Iron Bee
by Queen Apolline
Summary: Tony Stark was kidnapped by the Ten Rings. But what if it hadn't been Yinsen who saved him? What if it had been someone...different? What if it had been a little girl? The story of how Tony Stark was changed by a little Bee.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers and never will.**

**Warnings: Things blow up. Mentions of sexual activities.**

**Author's Note: This entire chapter is straight out of Iron Man. I didn't write any of this. Oh well. It's just the prologue.**

"I feel like you're driving me to court martial," Tony Stark said as the HMMWV rumbled down the road. The scotch in his hand tinkled as the ice hit the sides of the glass. "I feel like you're going to pull over and snuff me. What, are you not allowed to talk? Hey, Forest!"

"We can talk, sir," the young soldier beside him replied. "Oh, I see, so it's personal?" Tony asked. "No, you intimidate them," the driver replied in an obviously feminine voice. "Good God, you're a woman," Tony replied. "Honestly, I couldn't recall that. I would apologize, but isn't that what we're going for here? I thought it was soldier first."

"I'm an airman," she replied. "Well, you have actually excellent bone structure," Tony replied. "I'm kind of having a hard time not looking at you now, is that weird?" The soldiers chuckled and the driver smirked, rolling her eyes. "Come on, it's okay, laugh," Tony said cheerfully. "Hey!"

The soldier riding shotgun said, "Sir, I have a question to ask." "Yes, please," Tony replied amiably. "Is it true that you went twelve for twelve with last year's Maxim cover models?"

"That is an excellent question," Tony said, taking off his sunglasses. "Yes and no. March and I had a scheduling conflict, but fortunately, the Christmas cover was twins. Anything else?"

The young soldier next to Tony raised his hand. "You're kidding me with the raised hand," Tony said dubiously. The soldier put his hand down and asked, "Is it cool if I take a picture with you?"

"Yes," Tony nodded, "it's very cool." The soldier smiled and pulled a camera out of his pocket. He scooted next to Tony and handed the camera to the soldier riding shotgun.

"I don't want to see this on your MySpace page," Tony ordered as the young soldier made a peace sign. "Please, no gang signs." The soldier hurriedly put it down. "No, throw it up, I'm kidding," Tony said. "Yeah. Peace. I love peace. Be out of a job with peace."

The soldier up front fumbled with the camera. "C'mon, c'mon," the young soldier said. "Just click it, don't change any settings, just click it!"

The car in front of them blew up. Gunfire rattled the Humvee. "What's going on?" Tony asked, alarmed.

"Contact left!" the woman screeched. She opened her door, gun raised, and was shot as soon as she left the car. Her body fell to the ground.

"Jimmy, stay with Stark!" the soldier up front yelled as he got out of the car. "Stay down!" Jimmy yelled, pushing him to the floorboard. Tony watched as the other soldier was shot.

"Son of a…" Jimmy yelled, prepping his gun and opening the door.

"Wa-wa-wa-wa-wait!" Tony yelled. "Give me a gun!" "Stay here!" Jimmy yelled. A moment later, a bomb struck the vehicle.

Tony stumbled out of the Humvee, knowing he needed to find better shelter. He dove behind a rock. He pulled out his phone and began to dial.

A bomb landed a few feet away. Tony's eyes widened. The label read, "Stark Industries."

Tony tried to dive away from the bomb, but it exploded. Tony fell to the ground, pulling away his dress shirt to reveal a bullet proof vest underneath. Blood was seeping through it. Tony winced as he fell unconscious.

The next few days were a blur. Tony vaguely remembered voices yelling in Arabic. He remembered blood. And he remembered pain, a lot of pain. He remembered hearing screams, and then finally realizing they were his own. He finally fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Making a New Friend

Tony awoke with a start. The first thing he realized is that he didn't know where he was. The second thing he realized was that there was a feeding tube going through his nose. The attack came flooding back in a rush.

He coughed slightly, then began pulling the feeding tube out of his nose. He let out a short moan as the feeding tube got stuck, due to the tape on his nose. He pulled at it, then reached out and pulled at the tape until it came off and the feeding tube was free.

He took a few shaky breaths, and reached for the glass of water to one side of his bed. He only succeeded in knocking it off the table. He coughed a few times, his breath visible in the cold air.

He caught sight of a girl over by a mirror, braiding her hair. She didn't look more than ten, her figure just starting to develop. She was humming a tuneless song.

Tony reached for the jug with his other hand, but was held back. The sound of metal scraping reached his ears. The girl stopped, tying off her hair.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said, not turning around, but obviously watching him through the mirror. Tony turned to his other side to see a car battery, with wires leading under the bandages in his chest.

His breathing became frantic as he ripped the bandages apart to find that the wires were connected to a metal cylinder in his chest.

* * *

He took a few loud, shallow breaths, his mind trying to wrap itself around the metal plate in his chest.

The girl whistled as she made food in a pan that she was holding over the fire. Tony was sitting up on his pallet now, still in shock about his chest.

"What the hell did you do to me?" he asked. "What I did?" the girl asked, turning her head from the food to Tony. "What I did was to save your life."

Tony stared at her in shock. "I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there's a lot left, and it's headed into your atrial septum. Here, wanna see?" she asked, picking up a corked vial and shaking. "I have a souvenir. Take a look," she said, tossing the vial to him.

Tony caught it and held it up to the light. He could see the tiny fragments of metal rolling around it there.

"I've seen many wounds like that, around here," the girl said. "We call them the "walking dead," because it takes about a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs."

"What is this?" Tony asked grimly. "That," the girl said, "Is an electromagnet, hooked up to a car battery, and it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart." She said this with a grim, tight-lipped smile and a nod.

Tony just stared at her as he zipped the jacket up. He looked to the corner, where a robotic camera turned to look at him. The girl turned to see what he was looking at. "That's right," she said, turning back to her cooking. "Smile." Tony just stared at her.

"We met once, you know," the girl said. "At a technical conference in Bern that my mother was attending." "I don't remember," Tony said in a low voice. The girl giggled. "You wouldn't. I was just a little girl. Plus, if most people had been that drunk, they wouldn't have been able to stand, much less give a lecture on…integrated circuits."

"Where are we?" Tony asked, looking around. The girl was about to answer when there was a metallic ringing from the door, and a voice shouting in Arabic.

The girl dropped what she was doing and moved towards Tony. "C'mon, stand up," she hissed, motioning to him. "Stand up." When he did, she grabbed his arm and hissed, "Do as I do." She moved him so he was facing the door and said, "C'mon, put your hands up!" She lifted her hands and placed them behind her head. Tony copied her.

The doors opened and several men walked in. The one in the middle was obviously the leader and the other two were obviously thugs. They swaggered in. "Those are my guns," Tony practically growled. "How did they get my guns?" "Do you not understand me?" the girl hissed. "Do as I do!"

The leader threw up his arms and said something in Arabic, all with a smile on his face. The leader motioned to the girl. She took a deep breath and said, "He says 'Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America."

The leader continued on, saying something else that Tony had no clue what it meant. Still, the leader smiled. The girl said shortly, "He's honored." The leader rambled on in Arabic.

"He wants you to build the missile," the girl translated as the man continued on, unperturbed. "The Jericho missile you demonstrated." The leader handed a picture to the girl, gesturing towards Tony. The girl took the picture and showed it to Tony. "This one," she said.

Tony looked at the missile, the crown jewel of the Stark Industries freedom line, his most destructive missile yet. Tony thought a moment, the realization sinking in. "I refuse," he said coldly. The leader's eyes narrowed.


	3. Decisions, Decisions

Tony's face was shoved into a bucket of water. He panicked and couldn't breathe. He was pulled out of the water, water pouring down his face as he gasped for air. He spit water out of his mouth, and was shoved back into the water.

He felt the metal plate in his chest spark, the wires unable to handle the water. He heard Pepper's voice in his head calling, "Tony!" When he was pulled out again, he began fighting. "Jericho!" the terrorists shouted in chorus. Tony reluctantly agreed.

* * *

They hurried him outside with a burlap sack over his head. He clutched the car battery tightly in his arms. When they reached the mouth of the cave, they pulled the sack off his head.

He looked around, his eyes adjusting to the light. They were obviously in the mountains. The man behind him pushed for him to go, knocking him into another man, who steadied him. Tony staggered dazedly down the incline. He was vaguely aware that the girl was behind him.

He looked around the camp. Makeshift tents covered stacks of Stark Industries weapons. Tony was horrified. He continued walking until he came to a stop in front of the leader, who quickly said something in Arabic. The girl translated. "He, uh, wants to know what you think."

Tony looked back to the leader and said, "I think you've got a lot of my weapons." The man said something else as he walked around Tony, gesturing all the while. "He says, um, they have everything you need to build the Jericho missile," the girl interpreted. "He wants you to make the list of materials."

The man said something else. "He says, uh, for you to start working immediately, and when you are done, he will set you free," the girl said. The leader tilted his head and held out a hand for Tony to shake. Tony shook the hand, smiling. "No he won't," Tony said. The girl nodded and smiled. "No he won't."

The leader nodded and smiled broadly. Tony looked over his shoulder and saw the ranks of armed men, with the man he thought to be the real leader standing among them. He knew, in that moment, that he would never build the Jericho, and that he was going to escape.

* * *

Tony sat, staring into the fire, wrapped up in a coat with a hat on his head in the chilly cave. "I'm sure they're looking for you, Stark," the girl said, walking behind him. "But they will never find you in these mountains." The girl sat down across the fire from Tony.

"Look, what you just saw, **that **is your legacy, Stark. Your life's work, in the hands of those murderers! Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to do something about it?"

"I shouldn't do anything. They're gonna kill me, you, either way, and if they don't I'll probably be dead in a week." "Well then," the girl said in an odd voice. "This is a very important week for you, isn't it? Hm?"


	4. The Work Begins

Tony was standing in the middle of the terrorist thugs, who were carting materials in at top speed. He was shouting orders, in full director mode, with the girl translating quickly beside him. "If this is going to be my workstation, I want it well lit, well lit up. I'm gonna need welding gear, I don't care if it's acetylene or propane."

As the girl translated, she muttered, "Well aren't you the little diva?" Tony gave her look as she continued rattling his instructions off in perfect Arabic. Tony continued. "I'll need a soldering station, I'm gonna need helmets, I'm gonna need goggles, I would like a smelting cup. I need two sets of precision tools."

After it was all set up, Tony was left alone again with the girl for company. With nimble fingers, he dismantled one of his missiles.

"How many languages do you speak?" Tony asked her. "A lot," she replied. "But apparently not enough for this place. They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Arzic, Russian…"

Tony pulled the main part of the missile out. "Who are these people?" "They…are your loyal customers, sir," she said, giving him a look. Tony looked up, slightly shocked. "They call themselves the Ten Rings," she added. The camera watched their every move.

"You know, we might be more productive if you included me in the planning process," the girl said, kneeling beside where Tony was dismantling the missile. "Ya-huh," Tony said, slamming his fist against the top of the missile. The head came off and he pulled the main explosive part out.

He delicately tinkered with the main part of the missile. He removed a small piece of metal and threw the rest over his shoulder. "What is that?" the girl asked. "That's palladium," Tony said, holding it up so she could see. "Point one-five grams. We need at least one point six, so why don't we go break down the other eleven?"

The girl turned slowly and went to get the other missiles.

* * *

Tony worked quickly and efficiently to form a mold. He put the palladium in it and the girl held it over the burning fire until it melted. "Careful," Tony warned. "Be careful, we only get one shot at this." "Relax," the girl said. "I have steady hands. Why do you think you're still alive, huh?"

Tony set his car battery on the table as the girl gently poured the palladium into the mold Tony had made. "What do I call you?" Tony asked her, realizing for the first time that he didn't know her name.

"My name is Biela," she said. "Biela," Tony repeated. "Unusual name. Nice to meet you." The girl smiled, a real smile, not the fake one she'd used around the terrorists. "Nice to meet you, too," she said.

Tony placed the ring of palladium onto the disc. He worked with two sets of precision tools to make the minute adjustments necessary to construct his project. Finally it was done, and it gave off a bluish-white light as Tony played with the settings.

Biela came over and knelt beside him, awed. "That doesn't look like a Jericho missile," she said. "That's because it's a miniaturized arc reactor," Tony replied. "I got a big one powering my factory at home. This'll keep the shrapnel out of my heart."

"How much could it generate?" Biela asked, still in awe. "If my math is right," Tony said, "and it always is, three gigajoules per second." Biela's eyes widened. "That could run your heart for fifty lifetimes." "Yeah," Tony said, "or something big for fifteen minutes."

With the arc reactor ready, Tony showed Biela the plans he'd been working on. He brought her over to the light and laid the papers on top of each other. "This is our ticket out of here," Tony said. "What is it?" Biela asked. "Flatten them out and look," Tony said, as he smoothed the papers down.

Biela gasped as the armor appeared. "Wow," she said with a slight smile. "Impressive."


	5. Biela's Story

Biela helped Tony install the arc reactor on one of the coldest days of the year. Later that evening, they were playing backgammon. Tony called out his roll. "Ooh," Biela said. "Good roll, good roll."

"Still didn't tell me about your name. Or where you're from," Tony said. "My full name is Bianca Elaria Evans," Biela replied. "I took the Bi from Bianca and the Ela from Elaria to get Biela. I'm originally from the US…I think." "You think?" Tony said, raising an eyebrow.

"My mother would sleep with anything that breathed," Biela said bitterly. "I wasn't even supposed to be born. She didn't know and I don't know who my father is. Too many guys in the general time period. But most recently, I'm from a small town called Gulmira. It's actually a nice place."

"Got a family?" Tony asked. "Mother, siblings?" Biela shook her head. "I told you about Mom's tendencies. I was the only "mistake" she had. She was a chemist slash biologist with a specialty in chemical and biological warfare. We were in Gulmira, staying a friend of Mom's, the only one she didn't sleep with, I think, named Yinsen. Then the Ten Rings came in and kidnapped Yinsen and Mom, 'cause Yinsen knew tech and Mom knew chemistry. Yinsen died the first week here, 'cause he refused to cooperate and was killed for it. Mom was weaker, and agreed, but died a couple years ago when she finally cracked from the pressure and the rape."

"How old were you when you came here?" Tony asked. "Six. It had been five years since Mom, Yinsen, and I met you at that technical conference in Bern." "And how old are you now?" Tony asked, shocked. "Ten, I think. Do you have a family?"

Tony shrugged it off with a twitch of his mouth. "Nah." "No. Hm. So you are a man who has everything…and nothing." Tony gave a half shrug, half smile, and went back to the game.


	6. I Care

They had been working on the suit for almost three months when the threat came. The eye hole on the door slid open and something was shouted in Arabic. Tony, used to the routine by now, copied Biela and put his hands behind her head.

It was the same thugs and leader as always, but the man Tony had termed in his head, "big leader" was with them. The guy swaggered in. He came to stop in front of Tony and said, "Relax." Tony and Biela tentatively put their hands down.

The big leader came over to Tony and laid spread his shirt to get a better look at the arc reactor. "The bow and arrow," he said, still looking at the reactor, "once was the pinnacle of weapons technology." He looked up at Tony, then turned and walked away.

"It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine." He was looking at what they were currently working on now, picking it up and examining it. "An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great, and four times the size of the Roman empire." He came back over, focused on Tony. He picked up the plans for the suit. "But today, whoever holds the latest Stark weapons rules these lands."

Tony was about to punch him when Biela cleared her throat softly. He turned to look at her, and she made a calming gesture. Tony got the message. Don't antagonize the leader of the people holding you captive.

The man set the plans down and turned back towards Tony. "And soon," he said, an evil thrill entering his voice, "it will be my turn."

Biela hoped that Tony got the message. Suddenly, the leader, who was still facing Tony, asked harshly in Arabic, "Why have you failed me?" "We're working," Biela responded. "Diligently."

The leader turned and came towards her, a cold glare on his face. "I let you live," he snarled, still in Arabic, so that Tony wouldn't understand him. "This is how you repay me?"

Biela tried to keep her face impassive and her body language to a minimum. "It's very complex. He's trying very hard."

"On her knees!" the leader ordered his men. They grabbed her arms and forced her down. She tried not to struggle. Fight-or-flight wouldn't help her here. "You think I'm a fool?" the leader asked. "I'll get the truth." "We're both working," Biela insisted.

The leader turned around, holding a sizzling coal in a pair of tongs. He blew softly on it and said, "Open your mouth." Biela felt her eyes widen in fear. "What does he want?" Tony asked, getting the gist but wanting to know exactly.

"You think I'm a fool?" the leader said once more to Biela as one of the thugs turned her head. She struggled lightly, while trying to repress the urge, as her head was forced down to the table. "What's going on?" the leader demanded. "Tell me the truth."

"He's building your Jericho," Biela replied as the coal came towards her mouth. "Tell me the truth!" he said louder. "He's building your Jericho." "Tell me the truth!" the leader yelled. "He's building your Jericho!" Biela almost yelled back.

"What do you want, a delivery date? I can give you.." Tony asked as he stepped forward. Several guns were pointed at him immediately, the men yelling in Arabic. He held his hands up.

The leader looked at him. Tony looked at Biela, then at the leader. "I need her," he said. Biela stared at him. "Good assistant," Tony added. The leader watched him a moment, then dropped the coal. "You have 'til tomorrow," he said gruffly, "to assemble my missile."

The other men said something in Arabic as they left. As soon as they slammed the door behind them, Tony came over and helped Biela up. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked her kindly.

Biela burst into tears and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she said. "No one's cared that much about me before, ever. Thank you so much." Slightly shocked, Tony wrapped an arm around her in reassurance. "I care, Bee," he said. "I care about you." It was several minutes before she calmed down and let go.


	7. Escape

They had worked frantically to finish their escape plan. But finally, they were ready. Tony wrapped his hands in gauze. He knew he'd need it. Biela set up the pieces, then helped him into his jacket and gloves. She strapped the neck piece around his neck.

When they were sure that Tony was protected, Biela began getting Tony into the suit. "Knights always needed a squire, to help them get their armor on," Biela mentioned as she worked. "Does that make you a knight, if I'm the squire?" Tony smiled at her. "Sure, Bee. When we get out of here, I'll get you your own set of armor and everything." "Knight's armor, or tech armor?" Biela asked dubiously. Tony thought a moment. "Both. I'd be dead without you." Biela smiled and went back to her work.

"You okay?" she asked as she latched the chest piece on. "Can you move?" Tony wiggled his fingers. "Say it again," Biela ordered. "Forty-one steps straight, then sixteen, that's from the right, thirty-three steps, turn."

Biela was still putting Tony into the armor when the eyehole slid open. "Biela! Biela!" a man yelled. He yelled something else in a different language. "Say something," Tony urged. "He's, he's speaking Hungarian! I don't speak Hungarian!"

"You speak over forty languages and you don't speak Hungarian!" Tony hissed. "Say something, then!" "Okay, I know something," Biela admitted. "What do you know?" Tony asked. Biela took a few deep breaths. She yelled something back, just a single word, repeating it.

Tony knew that if they came in, they'd set off the bomb, and that would bring the terrorists down on them. Finally, they did open the door, and it certainly made a big boom.

"How'd that work?" Tony asked. "Oh my goodness, it worked all right," Biela said. "Start it up," Tony said. "Let me finish this," Biela argued. "Initialize the power sequence," Tony ordered. "Okay," Biela said as she rushed over to the computer.

"Now!" Tony said. "Tell me, tell me," Biela urged. "Function Eleven," Tony ordered. Biela clicked it. "Tell me when you see a progress bar," Tony urged. "It should be up right now." "Yes!" Biela said. "Talk to me," Tony ordered. "Tell me when you see it." "I have it," Biela said.

"Press control, I." "Control, I," Biela repeated. "Go ahead. "I, enter," Tony finished. Biela hit it. "Come over here and button me up," Tony urged. The progress bar moved steadily. They could hear the people yelling as they came.

"Get this last button," Tony said. "They're coming!" Biela said, beginning to freak out. "Calm down," Tony ordered. "Remember the plan." "They're coming!" she said again. "Remember, when I get done, just get out." "They're coming," she repeated.

She moved back to the progress bar, which was only halfway complete. "Remember to make sure the checkpoints are clear before you follow me out," Tony told her. "We need more time," Biela said.

"Hey," she said, turning around to face Tony. "I'm gonna go buy you some time." "Stick to the plan," Tony ordered. "Stick to the plan! Bee!"

* * *

Biela ran to the dead bodies and grabbed a gun. You can't live on a terrorist base for four years and not learn how to shoot. She shot out the cameras as she pretended to continue running down the hall.

Instead, she dove behind some metal boxes, thankfully, not flammable, and aimed her gun at the hall the terrorists would come through. She was a pretty good shot with a gun, and she wasn't going to let that go to waste.

Those weapons needed to be destroyed, and Tony could do that. If she died, she died for a good cause. Tony would change, and fix what had been done. It was all part of the plan.

The terrorists came down the hall, but only a few. Biela shot them to the ground and watched as the last three ran back. When she heard their return, she heard many, many more feet. She gulped. She couldn't shoot that many that quickly. She moved to the other side of the room and waited to shoot.

She cursed in Russian as they came through a different hall and straight into the room Tony was in.

The progress bar reached 100% and the lights dimmed. The terrorists came into the room cautiously in the darkness. Tony clenched and unclenched his fingers.

As a terrorist came around the corner where Tony was, he found himself bathed in white light. He turned, and Tony punched him, knocking him off his feet, and causing him to fly and land in a heap.

The other soldiers shot the area up. When they were done, and all was silent, one of them turned and said something to their leader. Suddenly, Tony appeared and smashed them. The other man tried to shoot him, but the bullets bounced right off his armor. Tony killed him as well.

He marched out towards the shooters, bullets bouncing off his armor as he walked calmly. Several men walked towards him, but he knocked them away. He judo-flipped another man to the ground and followed them as they ran away in terror.

The men furthest away closed the heavy steel doors, leaving one man stranded with Tony. He screamed, until Tony broke his neck. Tony hit the doors, four times until they burst open. The men behind them ran away in terror.

Tony hit one to the ground, but his arm became embedded in the rock. He didn't even notice the man come up behind him until he heard the gunshot hit him and then bounce off. He turned to see the man dead, gunshot wound in the head. He snorted. Idiot.

He finally succeeded in pulling his arm out and continued his march down the hall. He turned to see the entrance. He felt a smile cross his face.

"TONY!" a voice screamed. "Watch out!" Tony turned to see the big leader shoot at him with a missile launcher. He leaned back, narrowly missing it. The missile hit the wall beside him. Tony flipped up his arm guard and fired his own missile, a smaller one, but with more firepower. It hit, starting a fire and knocking the leader to the ground under debris.

Tony turned to see Biela, who stood with a frightened but determined look on her face, holding a gun in her hands. "Good job," she said. "I see it works." Tony flipped up his mask and gave her a saucy grin. "C'mon, time to go. We got a plan, let's stick to it," he said.

Biela gave a saucy salute. "Sticking with it," she grinned. "Ready to go see the world?" Tony asked her. She smiled. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Tony came out of the cave, into the sunlight. The guards immediately started shooting. Tony stood relatively still, knowing the bullets would bounce off. When they stopped, he said coldly, "My turn."

He raised his arms and activated the flamethrowers. He hit the men, the tents, and especially the weapons. His weapons. Not theirs.

He walked along the path, flamethrowers ablaze, destroying the weapons he had created. Biela was following behind him, ahead of the flames but using a makeshift oxygen mask to breath inside the smoke, as well as infrared goggles, so that she could stay hidden.

A sniper began shooting at Tony, followed by more gunmen. One got a lucky shot in his leg and Tony went down. They continued shooting. He got up again.

"Biela, now!" he yelled as things began exploding. He felt the girl run up behind him and jump on his back. He opened up the plate on his forearm and hit the button that activated the rockets on his feet.

He flew up out of the explosion, feeling like a superhero until the rockets failed. Then he began to yell, and Biela began to scream as they fell towards Earth, pieces of the suit falling off as they went. "When I say now, jump!" he ordered Biela. She could only scream as they continued to fall.

"Jump!" he ordered as they neared the ground. Biela jumped, landing and rolling a few yards away from where Tony crashed. Pieces of metal surrounded him. He sat up, pulling the rest of the armor off and groaning. "Not bad," he said.

"Are you okay?" Biela asked as she ran over. "Fine," Tony said. "Just a bit sore. You?" She looked herself over. "I've got a few burns on the backs of my legs, my outer arms, and my back from the explosion. Some of us don't have metal armor protecting us. And I got hit with a bullet in my upper arm, but I'm pretty sure it's superficial. And I'm a doctor, so you'd better believe it."

"You're a doctor?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow. "Medical prodigy," she replied. "How do you think I saved your life?" They began to walk through the desert. "I thought you were a linguistics prodigy," Tony said. "Since you speak over forty languages, not including Hungarian." "I'm…special," Biela admitted. "Quadruple prodigy, in linguistics, medicine, literature, and psychology."

Tony smiled. "Me too, but in mathematics, physics, computer science, and mechanical engineering, but I'm pretty good in the other stuff too." Biela smiled shyly. "Me too."


	8. Rescue

After jogging through the desert for hours, Tony had his shirt around his head. Biela, of course, had a head scarf as a part of her light, Afghan female clothes. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail.

The wind was starting to pick up and sand starting to blow. They had long become too tired for conversation. Tony took a slower pace for Biela's sake, due to her young age and relatively weak frame, due to spending more than a third of her life captive in a cave.

They reached the top of a sand dune when Biela tilted her head and said, "I hear something." A moment later, two helicopters flew up from behind them. They threw their hands in the air, waving and yelling, running towards them.

As the helicopters came down to land, Tony fell to his knees, holding a peace sign up in the air. Biela stopped and knelt beside him. "I can't go any further," she breathed, right before she passed out.

Tony put his peace sign down and laid a hand on her chest. She was still breathing, just exhausted. Five soldiers came running towards him. In the center was Rhodey. "How was the Funvee?" he asked. Tony just smiled as Rhodey knelt and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Next time you ride with me, okay?" Tony nodded weakly. Rhodey pulled him into a one armed hug.

Rhodey eyed Biela. "Who's she?" "She was a captive like me," Tony said. "She saved my life, and helped me escape. I had to bring her with me. She's only ten years old and she'd been there for four years." Rhodey nodded. "Time to go home, Tony."

* * *

Tony stood beside the hospital bed where Biela slept. The doctors at the base had told him that they wanted to keep her for a while longer to treat the bullet wound and the burns, as well as treating her for malnutrition and dehydration, both of which she was suffering from much worse than Tony.

Biela's breathing changed, and her eyes blinked open. "Tony?" she asked groggily. "Where am I?" "In the hospital on the Air Force base," he replied. "We escaped?" she gasped. Tony smiled. "We escaped," he confirmed.

Biela lay very still. "What will happen to me now?" "Well, the doctors want to keep you here a while longer, to make sure the burns and the bullet wound are healing alright. They also need to make sure that you've recovered from malnutrition and dehydration. I've got to go home now, confirm that I actually am alive and all that. Once you're better, the doctors are going to give me a call, and I'll get my private jet over here to bring you to the States, and I'll help you figure out what to do next."

Tears began welling in Biela's eyes. She leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much." "No," Tony said. "Thank you for saving me." Biela smiled as she laid back down and began to drift back off to sleep. "Don't waste your life, Tony. Don't waste it." With that, she was out.


	9. The Press Conference

The Air Force jet taxied down the runway. An ambulance was waiting, as were Pepper and Happy. The back of the jet opened, revealing Tony sitting in a wheelchair, with Rhodey beside him. Tony began to rise, and Rhodey helped him up.

They began to walk down the ramp. "Watch it with that," Rhodey said, nodding to a change in the slope. Tony looked down to watch his step. When they reached the bottom of the ramp, paramedics came over with a gurney.

"Are you kidding me with that?" Tony asked. "Take it away," he said, waving it off. They didn't go until Rhodey waved it off. Tony went straight towards Pepper, who was biting her lower lip with tears forming in her eyes. She smiled as he came up to her.

"Hm," Tony said. "Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?" Pepper smiled. "Tears of joy. I hate job hunting." Tony looked down, remembering what he had to do. "Yeah, vacation's over."

Tony and Pepper loaded themselves into the back of the car. "Where to, sir?" Happy asked. "Take us to the hospital, please, Happy," Pepper asked. "No," Tony said. "No?" Pepper asked. "Tony, you have to go to the hospital."

"No is my answer," Tony replied. "The doctor has to look at you," Pepper insisted. "I don't have to do anything," Tony said, looking at her. "I've been in captivity for three months and there are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger, and the other…" "That's enough with that," Pepper interrupted. "It's not what you think," Tony insisted. "I want you to call for a press conference now."

"Call for a press conference?" Pepper said in shock. "What on Earth?" "Yes," Tony said. "Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

* * *

People began applauding as the car pulled up. Obadiah Stane was at the forefront of the people. He held his arms wide as he went towards the car. "Hey, hey hey!" he yelled as he went to the car and opened Tony's door. "Hah!"

"Tony," he said, embracing the man as he came out of the car. "I thought we were going to meet at the hospital." "No, no," Tony said. "Look at you," Obie said. "Sir," Happy said, carrying a Burger King bag. "You had to have a burger," Obie said. "C'mon," Tony said. "You get me one of those?" Obie asked. "Uh, do you see a second burger?" Tony asked as they walked inside. "We'll talk about it later."

Inside, people snapped pictures of them as they walked down the hall. They entered the main conference room where they were greeted with claps and cheers. Tony did his charismatic, "Hey! Good to see you!" bit as he walked through to the stage.

Pepper stopped by the door as she watched her boss with a small smile. "Miss Potts," an unassuming man in a suit, "May I speak to you for a moment?" "I'm not part of the press conference but it's about to begin right now," she told him gesturing towards the stage.

"I'm not a reporter," the man said. "I'm Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division," he said, handing her his card. "That's quite a mouthful," Pepper replied, taking it. "I know," Coulson said. "We're working on it."

"You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA…" "We're a separate division," Coulson replied. "We're the more…specific…focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark on the circumstances of his escape."

"I'll put something in the books, shall I?" Pepper asked. "Thank you," Coulson said with a smile.

"Well, let's get started," Obie said into the mike. "Ah," he said as he looked around for Tony, finally leaning down and looking at him sitting on the stage, leaning back on the podium.

"Hey would it be okay if everyone…sat down?" Tony said with a wave of his hand. "Can we just sit down? That we you can see me and we can be…a little less formal." As everyone sat down in bemusement, Tony pulled another cheeseburger out of his pocket and took a bite.

Tony looked over at Obie, who had sat down beside him. "Good to see you," he said. "Good to see you too," Obie replied. "I never got to say goodbye to Dad," Tony said to Obie.

Raising his voice, he addressed the press. "I never got to say goodbye to my father. There are questions I would've asked him, questions about how he felt about what this company did, if he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we remember from the newsreels."

The lights of cameras flashing went through his vision every few seconds. He took a few deep breaths. "I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I, I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

A young reporter raised his hand as a chorus of, "Mr. Starks?" filled the room. "You," Tony said to him. He put his hand down and asked, "What happened over there?"

"I had my eyes opened," Tony said, standing up. "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up." He moved to stand behind the podium. "And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries."

The people leapt to their feet and started asking questions as Obie came over and tried to get Tony off the stage. Tony continued his speech. "Until such a time as I can decide what the future of this company will be, what direction it should take, one that I am comfortable with and one that is consistent for the highest good of this country as well."

Obie began talking as Tony walked out. "What we should take away from this," he said over the shouts, "is that Tony's back, and he's healthier than ever, and we'll have a little internal discussion and get back to you with the following."

* * *

Tony stood inside the Stark Industries factory, looking at the giant arc reactor when Obie came in with a cigar in his mouth. "Well that, ah, that went well." "Uh, did I just paint a target on the back of my head?" Tony asked. "Your head? What about my head? What do you think the over-under on the stock drop is going to be?" Obie asked as he paced. "Ahh…optimistically, forty points?" Tony replied, taking of his tie. "At minimum," Obie said, stopping pacing and standing beside Tony.

"Yep," Tony said with a sigh. "Tony," Obie said. "We're a weapons manufacturer." "Obie," Tony said. "I don't want a body count to be our only legacy." "Well that's what we do," Obie argued. "We're iron mongers, we make weapons." "My name on the side of the building," Tony reminded. "And what we do," Obie continued, "keeps the world from falling into chaos."

"Not based on what I saw," Tony said. "We're not doing a good enough job, we can do better, we can do something else" he argued. "Like what?" Obie asked. "You want us to make baby bottles?" "I think we should take another look into arc reactor technology," Tony replied.

"Oh, c'mon," Obie said with a laugh, "the arc reactor? That's a publicity stunt! Tony, c'mon, we built that thing to shut the hippies up." "It works," Tony said. "Yeah, as a science project," Obie replied. "The arc was never cost effective, we knew that before we built it! Arc reactor technology…that's a dead end, right?" "Maybe," Tony responded cryptically.

"Huh, am I right?" Obie asked. "We haven't had a breakthrough in that in what, thirty years?" "That's what they say," Tony said. Obie exhaled. Tony studied him. "Could you have a lousier poker face? Just tell me, who told you? Who told you?" "Never mind who told me," Obie said, pointing his cigar at him, "show me." "Rhodey or Pepper, it's Rhodey or Pepper." "I want to see it," Obie insisted. "Okay, Rhodey," Tony said.

He looked around to make sure they were alone as he took the sling off. He unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the arc reactor. After staring a moment, Obie began buttoning his shirt up again with a smile and a chuckle. "It works," Tony insisted.

"Listen to me, Tony," Obie said, putting an arm over his shoulders, "we're a team, you understand, there's nothing we can't do if we stick together, like your father and I. Tony…" "I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads up, okay?" Tony said. "But if I had…" "Tony," Obie interrupted, "Tony, no more of this ready, fire, aim business. You understand? You gotta let me handle this, we're playing a whole different kind of ball now, we're gonna take a lot of heat, I want you to promise me you're gonna lay low."


	10. The New Arc

As he worked on the new arc reactor, Tony thought about Biela. He hoped she was doing alright. On a whim, he picked up his cell phone and called the general in charge of the base. "General Porter," the man answered. "Yeah, this is Tony Stark," he replied. "Mr. Stark," the man greeted. "What can I do for you?" "Can you buy long-range phones on your base?"

"Well, yes," the man replied. "Can you do me a favor, buy one and send me the bill. Program this number into it and give it to Biela, the girl who came in with me, who's currently in the hospital wing, okay?" "Certainly, Mr. Stark. Anything else I can do for you?" "Just tell Biela to give me a call," Tony said. He hung up the phone.

An hour later, his phone rang. "Jarvis, answer the phone," Tony ordered. "Yes, sir," the AI said. "Hello?" Tony answered. "Tony?" someone asked. "It's Biela." "Hey, Bee, how are you?" Tony greeted. "Good. I saw the press conference. When I said not to waste your life, that's not exactly what I meant."

"What did you have in mind?" Tony asked, affronted. "Um…I was thinking tracking all the weapons and self-destruct buttons," Biela said. "Oh. I suppose that is a good idea," Tony admitted.

"So, why did you want to talk to me?" Biela asked. "I missed our conversations," Tony said. "You're one of the few people smart enough to keep up with what I'm saying." "I have an eidetic memory," she said. "I remember everything I see, hear, or read. That's how I knew enough about weapons and tech to help you."

Tony sighed good-naturedly. "Only person who can keep up with me is ten," he smiled. "So…I was wondering, do you want me start looking for your dad?" Biela was silent a moment. "I don't know," she finally answered, in a voice so soft that Tony barely heard her. "On one hand, I kind of want to meet my father, but on the other, what if he doesn't want me? Where would I go then?"

"You don't have to worry about that," Tony said firmly. "If he doesn't want you, or if he's dead, or if we can't find him…I'll adopt you." "You'll adopt me?" Biela said softly. Tony felt suddenly shy. "Yeah, uh, if you don't mind being stuck with me…I know I've got enough issues, and I'll probably be a horrible parent…"

"Tony, stop," Biela ordered. "I'd love for you to adopt me. That is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. No one's ever been as nice to me as you are. If you were here, I'd hug you right now, and I admit that I'm crying, I'm so happy."

Tony smiled. "So…even if we find your dad, and you don't hit it off immediately...can I try to convince him to let me adopt you anyway?" "Sure," Biela said, and Tony could tell from her voice that she was beaming. "Well, I've got to go," she said with a sigh. "The docs are yelling at me to go to sleep." "One more thing," Tony said quickly. "Or three, actually. What's your favorite colors, your shoe size, and your clothing size?"

"Um, yellow, blue, green, and pink, girl's size 11, and girl's size 6, in US standards." "Thanks, Bee. Call me tomorrow?" Tony asked. "'Kay, Tony," Biela replied. "Bye!" "Bye," Tony replied as she hung up.

He finished the new arc reactor and tried to install it, stopping when a wire touched the sides of the plate in his heart. He tried to reach in and grab it, but his hands were too small.

"Jarvis, call Pepper," he said. "Pepper, uh how big are your hands?" he asked her. "What?" she said. "How big are your hands?" "I don't understand why…" she replied. "Come down here, I need you," he interrupted.

He watched her come down the stairs and enter the lab. "Hey," he called as she walked through the door. He knew he must look weird, lying on the medical table in pajama pants with a towel over his waist, a metal plate in his chest and another glowing object in his hands.

"Let's see 'em. Show me your hands," he ordered. "Let's see 'em," he said as she walked towards him. She held up her hands. "Wow, they are small. Very petite," he said. "I just, uh, need your help for a sec."

"Oh my God," she said, focused on the plate in his chest, "is that the thing that's keeping you alive?" "It was," Tony said, fingering the new arc. "It is now an antique. This," he held the new arc up, "is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future. I'm swapping it out for an upgrade, you know, but I ran into a little…speed bump."

"What speed bump, what does that mean?" Pepper asked. "It's just a little snag," Tony reassured, reaching up and detaching the arc in his chest. "There's an exposed wire under this device, and it's contacting the socket wall and it's causing a little bit of a shortage." He yanked the arc out while still talking.

"Now, I can't really blame the installer, she's just a kid, only ten, and she did manage to keep me alive in the first place, and install this thing," he said, handing the arc to her. "What do you want me to do?" Pepper asked. "Put that on the table over there, that is irrelevant," Tony ordered. Pepper turned and did so.

"Anyway, I just want you to reach in and you're just going to gently lift the wire out." "Is it safe?" Pepper asked warily. "Yeah, it should be fun, just like Operation, just don't let it touch the socket wall." "What's Operation?" Pepper asked. "What do you mean Operation?"

"It's just a game, never mind, we'll play in a couple weeks. Just gently lift the wire, okay? Great." Pepper was reaching for it when she snatched her hand back. "You know, I-I don't think I'm qualified to do that." "No, you're fine," Tony reassured, "You are the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I ever met. You can do great."

Pepper still seemed wary. "Is it too much of a problem to ask?" Tony asked. "'Cause I really need your help here." "Okay, okay," Pepper said. She reached for the socket. "Okay," Tony said calmly. Pepper took a deep breath and reached in.

"Oh my, oh, there's pus!" she said squeamishly. "It's not pus," Tony said, "it's an inorganic, plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body." "It smells," Pepper whined. "Yeah, it does," Tony said. "The copper wire, the copper wire, you got it?" "I got it," Pepper said breathlessly.

"You got it, okay, now don't let it touch the-AH!" Tony yelled as it touched the socket wall. "Sides, sides, when you're coming up," Tony finished. "That's what I was trying to say before." "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Pepper chanted as she pulled the wire out.

"Okay, now when you pull it out, make sure you don't pull out the magnet at the end," Tony said, just as he saw her pull the magnet out. The machines started beeping frantically. "That's it," Tony said, "You just pulled out the magnet." "I'm sorry," Pepper said again.

She moved to put it back in. "No, don't put it back in," Tony said, "What do I do?" Pepper said slightly, freaking out. She put it down on the table. "What's wrong?" she asked as Tony took a deep breath. "Nothing, I'm just going into cardiac arrest 'cause you yanked it out." "What!" Pepper yelled. "I thought you said this was safe!"

"Here take this, take this," Tony said, handing her the new arc. "Okay," she said, grabbing the wire. "Really quick," he said. "Okay." She stopped a moment. "Tony," she said. "What?" he asked. "It's gonna be okay, okay, it's gonna be okay, I'm gonna make this okay," she said.

"Alright, okay, you're gonna attach that to the base plate," he said as she reached in with the wire. "And make sure you-YOW!" he yelled as she plugged it in. "Was that so hard?" he asked her as she placed the arc in. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Here, I got it," he said, taking the arc. "Nice." "Are you okay?" Pepper asked. "Yeah, I feel fine," Tony said. "You okay?" he asked with a slight chuckle at her discomfort. He laughed as she broke into an uneasy smile. "Don't ever, ever, ever, ever, ask me to do anything like that ever again," she said.

"I-I don't have anyone else," Tony said. "But you. Anyway," he said, pulling the heart monitors off his chest as Pepper slung the plasmic discharge off her fingers. He got up and began to shut down the devices.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Pepper asked, holding up the old arc reactor. "That?" Tony asked. "Destroy it. Incinerate it," he said, tapping the new arc. "You don't want to keep it?" Pepper asked, looking down at it.

"Pepper, I've been called many things," Tony said, throwing the towel down. "Nostalgic is not one of them." Pepper looked at it once more and asked, "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" "That will be all, Miss Potts," Tony replied.

He turned around and addressed his robots. "Hey, Butterfingers, come here. What's all this..stuff, doing on top of my desk. That's my phone, that's my picture of me and Dad, the rest is trash. Get rid of it."


	11. Taking Care of Things

Tony started looking for Biela's father the next day, using a sample of blood he had gotten from the doctors in Afghanistan. Pepper came down while he was working.

"Tony?" she asked. "I just remembered…what were you saying yesterday about a ten-year-old girl who installed the arc reactor?" Tony looked up.

"Her name is Bianca Elaria Evans, but she goes by Biela, and I call her Bee. She was in captivity with me in Afghanistan, the difference being she'd been there since she was six." "Six?" Pepper gasped. "What happened to her? Where is she now?"

"I brought her with me when I escaped, but she got some second degree burns on her back, arms, and legs from the explosions, and she got shot in her upper arm. She's currently in the military hospital in Afganistan. They're going to release her in soon, hopefully."

"What will happen to her then?" Pepper asked. "I'm going to send the jet out to get her, and I'll bring her here," Tony said. "Her mom's dead, she died in Afghanistan, and she has no idea who her dad is. I'm going to help her find him, and if she doesn't hit it off with him immediately, or if I can't find him, or if he's dead, I'm going to adopt her."

"You're going to adopt her?" Pepper asked, surprised. "Yes," Tony said firmly. "That girl has gone through things that no one should have to go to, and I want to help her, because she saved my life. She physically set up the original electromagnet, and installed the arc reactor, and she's the one who gave me the courage to shut down the weapons manufacturing."

He paused a moment. "Uh, Pepper, how do I get clothes and stuff for her? And I want to set a room up for her, so even if we find her dad, and she stays with him, she can come by here anytime…what do I do?"

"I'll help you," Pepper promised. "Do you know her favorite colors? And her size?" "Uh, yeah, she likes yellow, pink, green, and blue, she's a girl's size 6, shoe size 11. She probably would want her room to be colorful and bright, with big windows and a distinct lack mountainous coloring," Tony added.

"Clothes?" Pepper asked. "Any idea what her style is?" "Uh, no," Tony said. "She was dressed in Afghani clothing every time I saw her. So, I guess we should just get the basics until she gets here. Jeans, denim capris and shorts, solid color t-shirts, underwear, sandals, maybe some socks, a couple sweatshirts and a jacket…" Tony's voice drifted off.

"I'll handle it," Pepper assured. "Who knows what the press would do if Tony Stark went shopping for girl's clothing. At least I have nieces." Tony sighed in relief. "You are a saint, Pepper. Oh, and the last reason I don't want her with some random stranger, is because she's like me. A quadruple prodigy. Only the second ever. I don't want her put on show like I was."

Pepper smiled. "I'll take care of it. Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" "That will be all, Miss Potts," Tony said with a smile.


	12. Rhodey and New Plans

Tony stood by the door to listen to Rhodey's spiel to the recruits. "The future of aerial combat," he said, his voice ringing through the hangar, "Is it manned or unmanned? I'll tell you, in my experience, no unmanned aerial vehicle will ever trump a pilot's instinct, his insight, that ability to look into a situation beyond the obvious and discern its outcome, or a pilot's judgment."

Tony chose that moment to walk up. "Colonel," he greeted. Rhodey turned towards him. "Why not a pilot without the plane?" he asked. Rhodey chuckled. "Look who fell out of the sky, Mr. Tony Stark!" "Hello, sir," one of the recruits greeted. Tony shook his hand.

"Speaking of manned or unmanned, you gotta get him to tell you about the time he guessed wrong at spring break; just remember that, Spring Break 1987, that lovely lady you woke up with? What was his name? Was it Ivan?" "Don't do that," Rhodey said. "Don't do that. Don't believe that, don't do that, don't do that." "Okay," Tony shrugged.

"Give us a couple minutes, you guys," Rhodey said to the recruits. They walked off. Rhodey chuckled. "I'm surprised," he said. "What?" Tony asked. "I swear I didn't expect to see you walking around so soon." "I'm doing a little better than walking," Tony said.

"Really," Rhodey said, crossing his arms. "Yeah," Tony said. "Rhodey, I'm working on something big. I came to talk to you…I want you to be part of it." Rhodey smiled. "You're about to make a whole lot of people 'round here real happy," Rhodey said with a nod. "'Cause that little stunt, at the press conference, it was a doozy."

Tony took a deep breath. "This…is not for the military. I'm not…it's different." Rhodey's brow furrowed. "What, you a humanitarian now or something?" "I need you to listen to me," Tony said.

"No," Rhodey said. "What you need is time to get your mind right." Tony gave a patronizing smile. "I'm serious," Rhodey said as he turned and walked away. "Nice seein' you, Tony." "Thanks," Tony muttered.

* * *

Tony sat down at his computer and started inputting code. "Jarvis, you up?" he asked. "For you sir, always," the AI replied. "I'd like to open a new project file, index as Mark II," Tony said. "Shall I save this on the Stark Industries Central Database?" Jarvis asked as Tony moved a file from his computer screen to his holoscreen.

"I don't know who to trust right now," Tony muttered. "'Til further notice, why don't we just keep everything on my private server." "Working on a secret project are we, sir?" Jarvis asked. "I don't want this ending up in the wrong hands," Tony said as he redid the Mark I hologram, trashing parts and keeping others.

"Maybe in mine it can actually do some good," Tony said as he spun the hologram around.


	13. Flight Test

Later that day, Tony was working on armor with help from the robots. "Next," he ordered. "Up. Good, Dummy, you got it. Stay put," he ordered as he adjusted something with a small tool. "Nice," he said. "Stop. You're of no benefit at all. I'll handle it. Okay, I'm sorry, am I in your way?" he asked as he worked on the boot.

Just then, his phone rang. He checked the caller ID and answered, "Hey, Bee." "Hi, Tony," the girl chirped. "The docs are planning on releasing me tomorrow around noon." "I can send the jet out now, and it'll be there in time for you to hop on it. Hold on a sec, let me call my pilot."

"Jarvis, call the flight crew and tell them I need them to fly to Afghanistan ASAP to pick up a friend of mine. It's a young girl, and the password is 'backgammon,'" Tony ordered. "Right away, sir," the AI replied.

Tony switched back to Biela. "Okay, they'll head out right away. You'll have to use the password to enter the jet. The password is backgammon, 'cause we played it so many times." "I still won the tournament," Biela reminded. "Did not! Those last three rounds were unfair!" "The tournament only had five rounds," Biela said dryly. "And I won three of them."

"Well, a proper tournament should have at least nine rounds," Tony replied. "I challenge you for a rematch." "You're on," Biela said. "Oh, and how do you feel about playing Operation?" "Operation, like the game Operation?" Biela asked, sounding slightly confused. "Yes, that one. My PA had never heard of Operation, and it's just not right to play Operation without someone under the age of eighteen playing with you."

"If you say so, Tony," Biela laughed. "See you soon. I'll call before the plane takes off tomorrow." "Good. See you soon." Biela hung up the phone. Tony turned back to the boot…and Dummy. "Up," he ordered as he continued his work. "Screw it, Dummy. You, are a tragedy." He finally finished and opened the boot up.

* * *

Shortly thereafter, Tony was strapped into both boots. He was having one of the bots, You, film. "Okay," he said, "let's do this right." He backed p slowly. "Start mark half meter back from center." He took a deep breath. "Dummy, look alive, you're on standby for fire safety. You, roll it." He double-checked that the boots were on. "Mm-kay, activate hand controls. We're gonna start nice and easy, we're gonna see if ten percent thrust capacity achieves lift. And 3, 2,1." With that, the boosters activated, and he slammed into the wall. Dummy sprayed him with the fire extinguisher.

He made several quick calculations on his laptop. He knew he was running on coffee by now as he took another sip. He pulled up the 3D rendering of a repulsor glove and disassembled and rebuilt it. He reassembled it and put his hand in. It seemed to work.

* * *

Later, he folded the glove over his arm as he worked on it. Just then, Pepper came down the stairs and entered the lab. It must be late evening by now. He glanced at his watch. He still had a few hours. "Up two," he ordered one of the bots. "Step back." "I've been buzzing you, did you hear the intercom?" Pepper asked. "Yeah, everything's- what?" Tony said, finally realizing what she was saying. "Obadiah's upstairs, he's back in town," she said. "Great, great," Tony said absentmindedly as he lifted the glove from its stand.

"I thought you said you were done making weapons," Pepper said disapprovingly as he held his arm up. "It is," he said. "This is a flight stabilizer. It's completely harmless," he said, as the repulsor started up. Then it fired off. Tony fell backwards. Pepper turned around and covered her ears. "I didn't expect that," Tony said weakly as Pepper turned around angrily.


	14. Obadiah and Another Flight Test

**Author's Note: I got a comment asking how Biela was as small as she was. My reasoning: she's been living as a prisoner in a cave in very, very bad conditions for the past four years. She isn't fed properly, therefore, her growth has been stunted. Thankfully, she will recover, and she is going to get taller. Still short, but taller.**

* * *

Tony bounded up the stairs from the lab to the sounds of a piano playing. "How'd it go?" he asked Obadiah as the older man played the piano. Tony noticed the pizza sitting on the table in front of Pepper. "Went that bad, huh?" he asked. "Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn't mean it went bad," Obie said. "Uh-huh," Tony said in disbelief as he opened the box. "Sure doesn't." Obadiah stopped playing as Tony grabbed a slice. "Oh boy," the billionaire said.

"Would've gone better if you were there," Obadiah said. "Uh-uh," Tony said petulantly. "You told me to lay low, that's what I've been doing. I lay low, and you take care of all of that." "C'mon," Obadiah said as he walked down the stairs. "In public. The press. This was a Board of Directors meeting." "This was? This was a Board of Directors meeting?" Tony asked in surprise.

Obadiah sat down. "The Board is claiming posttraumatic stress, they're filing an injunction." "A what?" Tony asked. "They want to lock you out," Obie said. "Why, cause the stocks dipped forty points, we knew that was gonna happen." "Fifty-six and a half," Pepper put in. "It doesn't matter, we own the controlling interests in the company," Tony said loudly. "Tony, the Board has rights, too," Obie said, as if speaking to a small child. "They're making the case that you, and your new direction, isn't in the company's best interests."

"I'm being responsible, that's a new direction," Tony said. "For me, for the company. Obie raised his eyebrows. "I mean me on the company's behalf," Tony corrected, "being responsible for the way that…" Pepper sighed. "I'll be in the shop," Tony decided, standing up and carrying the pizza away. "Tony, Tony," Obie said. "I'll be in the shop," he said louder. "Hey, hey, Tony, listen," Obie said as he came up and grabbed Tony's shoulder. "I'm trying to turn this thing around, but you gotta give me something to pitch them," he said. "Let me have the engineers analyze that, y'know, draw up some specs…"

"No," Tony said. "No!" "It'll give me something for the boys in New York!" Obie insisted. "Absolutely not, this one stays with me," Tony said adamantly. "That's it, Obie." "Well then, this stays with me," Obie said, grabbing the pizza box from Tony's hands. "Go on, have a piece, take two," he said, opening it. "Thank you," Tony said as he grabbed a couple slices. "You mind if I come down there and see what you're doing?" Obie called after him. "Good night, Obie!" Tony called.

* * *

Later that night, Tony was again strapped in and ready for a flight test. "Day Eleven, test figuration two-point-o. For lack of a better option, Dummy is still on fire safety," he said, looking at the bot. He held up a finger and said warningly, "If you douse me again, and I'm not on fire, I am donating you to a city college." He turned back to the camera. "Alright, nice and easy," he said, getting into the ready position. "Seriously, just gonna start off with one percent thrust capacity. And 3,2,1, go."

He lifted off, and he could actually hold himself up in the air. It was so cool. He drifted a bit, and then set down. He turned to Dummy, who was looking at him hopefully, fire extinguisher raised. "Please don't follow me around with it either, because I feel like I'm going to catch on fire spontaneously. Just stand down, if something happens, then come in."

He turned around. "Okay, let's bring it up to 2.5. 3, 2, 1." He lifted off. He was having a bit of trouble controlling his movements, drifting from one side of the garage to another. "Okay, this is where I don't want to be," he said as he moved over the cars. "Ee-aw, not the car, not the car, yikes!" He flew over his desk, and papers went flying everywhere. He used the repulsors to stop himself from flying into a wall.

"Could be worse, could be worse," he reassured himself as he fought to regain control. "Okay," he said as he made it to the center of the room and hovered there, straight up, repulsors at his sides. He lowered himself down and then landed on the floor. He fell backwards as he landed, but caught himself.

He was breathing deeply when he saw Dummy raise the fire extinguisher. "Na-a-a-a-a-a!" he warned the bot. Dummy lowered his head sadly. "Yeah, I can fly," Tony said. "Wait 'til I show Bee."


	15. The Final Flight Test

Early the next evening, long after Bee had called to say she was boarding the plane, Tony was being put into the suit he'd designed. "Jarvis, you there?" he asked as he put the mask over his face. "At your service, sir," the AI replied cordially. "Engage Heads-Up Display," Tony ordered. "Check," the AI replied. "Import all preferences from home interface," he added. "Will do, sir."

He looked around, amazed that digital pop-up appeared for almost everything he looked at, detailing what it was and other information about it. "Alright, what do you say?" he asked. "I have been uploaded sir. We are online and ready." "Start the virtual walk around," Tony instructed. "Importing preferences and calibrating virtual environment," Jarvis replied.

"Check on control surfaces," Tony asked. "As you wish," Jarvis said. Tony felt all the little panels on the suit click as Jarvis made sure they were working. "Test complete," Jarvis announced. "Preparing to power down and begin diagnostics." "Uh, yeah," Tony said. "Tell you what, do a weather and ATC check, start listening in on ground control." "Sir, there are still terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is…" "Jarvis," Tony warned. "Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk. Ready, in 3,2,1."

He held his arms to his sides and heard the suit power up. He leaned forward and zoomed out the garage entrance, yelling as he did. "Yeah!" he yelled as he shot out from the house. "Woo!" He shifted slightly. "Pedals like a dream," he commented. He soared towards the boardwalk and zoomed in on the Ferris wheel. He saw a little kid lose his ice cream.

He soared upwards. "Alright, let's see what this thing can do. What's the SR-71's record?" "The record for fixed wing flight is 85,000 feet, sir," the AI replied. "Records are made to be broken," Tony said as he continued up. "C'mon!" "Sir, there is a potentially fatal buildup of ice occurring," Jarvis said as the warning label flashed into his sight. "Keep going!" Tony gasped. "Higher!"

Then the foot went out. The lights went out, and Tony froze. Then he began to fall, yelling as he went. "We got to stop, Jarvis, and break the ice!" Tony yelled. "Jarvis? C'mon, we gotta break the ice!" He manually twisted the button that deployed the flaps. The ice broke, and Jarvis came back online,. He caught himself as he fell, and soared along the highway. "Yeah!" he yelled.

He soared back home and hovered over the roof. "Kill power," he ordered. He dropped, and continued dropping. He went through the piano and landed on one of his cars, setting the alarms of all the others off. Dummy turned and doused him with the fire extinguisher. Tony leaned his head back.


	16. Biela and a Party

**AN: After seven chapters, Biela is going to show up again, in person.**

After getting an icepack, he walked back into the lab and grabbed a cup of coffee from atop a small box wrapped in plain brown paper. Then he stopped and turned back to the box. The sticky note on top read, 'From Pepper.' Curiosity overtaking him, he ripped the paper off the box. Inside was a glass case holding the original arc reactor. On it was written, "Proof that Tony Stark Has a Heart." Tony smiled.

"Notes, main transurials sluggish at plus forty altitude, whole pressure problematic, and I'm thinking ice is a problem factor," Tony said, wincing. "A very astute observation, sir. Perhaps if you plan to visit other planets, we should improve the exosystems." "Go, reconfigure the exterior metals, use the gold titanium alloy from the Seraphim tactical satellite; that should insure fuselage integrity while maintaining power to weight ratio, got it?"

"Yes," Jarvis said as Tony took a drink. "Should I render using proposed specifications?" "Thrill me," Tony said. The TV across the screen showed a reporter announcing, "Tonight's red hot red carpet here at the Disney Concert Hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for firefighters' family fund has become the place to be for LA high society." Tony tilted his head. "Jarvis, we get an invite to that?" "I have no record of an invitation, sir," the AI replied.

Tony picked up the face mask and put it over his face. He listened to the reporter talk about him. "…hasn't been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference. Some claim he is suffering from posttraumatic stress and has been bedridden for weeks. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from him tonight."

"Render is complete," Jarvis said. "Little ostentatious, don't you think?" Tony asked, looking at the golden suit. "What was I thinking?" Jarvis asked sarcastically. "You're usually so discreet." "Tell you what," Tony said, glancing at his favorite car. "Throw a little hot-rod red in there." "Yes, that should help you keep a low profile," Jarvis replied. Jarvis revised the suit idea for the Mark III. "Render is complete," he said. "Yeah, I like that," Tony ordered. "Paint it!

"Commencing automated assembly," Jarvis said. "Estimated completion time is five hours." Tony looked at his watch. "Don't wait up for me, honey," Tony said. "Sir, may I remind you that Miss Biela will be here tonight?" the AI replied. "Right," Tony said. "No getting drunk tonight. Make sure I go get her from the airport."

* * *

Tony zipped along in his supercar, the Stark 4. He pulled up to the Disney Concert Hall and got out. "Mr. Stark," the valet greeted. Tony tossed him the keys. "Thank you," he said as he walked towards the red carpet. The screams and camera flashes started almost immediately. He walked up to Obie, who was talking to a reporter. "…the weapons manufacturing is one small part of what Stark Industries is all about, a part of the…" his voice trailed off as he saw Tony walk up.

"Hey, Tony," one girl said, "remember me?" "Sure don't," Tony replied casually. "Hey, Heff, looking good," he said, clapping the old man on the shoulder. He walked up to Obie. "What's the world coming to when a guy's gotta crash his own party?" "Ha-ha, look at you," Obie laughed. "Hey, what a surprise." Tony smiled. "I'll see you inside." "Hey, uh, listen," Obie warned. "Take it slow, alright, I've got the board right where I want them." "Okay," Tony said. "Just cabin fever, I'll just be a minute." He continued on inside.

Inside the building he went straight to the bar. "Give me a scotch, I'm starving." The unassuming man next to him said, "Mr. Stark." "Yeah?" Tony asked. "Agent Coulson ," the man replied. "Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, the guy from the…" "Strategic Intervention, Enforcement, Logistics Division." "Right," Tony said. "Gotta get, you need new name for that." "I hear that a lot. Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief. There's still a lot of unanswered questions and time can be a factor with these things. Let's put something on the books, how about the 24th, at 7PM, at Stark Industries?"

Tony was busy staring at Pepper, who was wearing a backless dress. He held out his hand to Coulson, eyes still fixed on Pepper. "Tell you what," he said, "you got it. You're absolutely right. Well, uh, I'm gonna go to my assistant, and make it a date." He walked over to Pepper. "You look fantastic, I didn't recognize you," he called to her. She turned around. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Avoiding government agents," he replied. "Are you by yourself?" she asked, concerned.

"Where'd you get that dress?" he asked. "I, oh, it was a birthday present," she said. "Birthday present?" "From you, actually," Pepper said with a smile. "Well, I've got great taste," Tony said. "Yes," Pepper replied, nodding. "You, uh, wanna dance?" Tony asked. "Oh no, no thank you," Pepper said, as Tony dragged her out onto the dance floor. "Alright, c'mon."

Pepper sighed loudly. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" Tony asked. "Oh, um, well, no, I, uh, always forget to wear deodorant, and I'm at a dance with my boss with everyone I work with in a dress with not back." "You look great, you smell great," Tony reassured. "Sure," she said. "But I could fire you if it would take the edge off," Tony offered. Pepper raised her eyebrows. "I actually don't think that you could tie your shoes without me," Pepper said with a smile. "I'd make it work," Tony said. "Really?" Pepper asked. "What's your Social Security number?"

Tony thought a moment. "5," he said finally. "Five, right," Pepper said with a knowing look. "You're missing just a couple of digits there." "The other eight?" Tony said. "I've got you for the other eight." Pepper laughed. "How 'bout a little air?" Tony asked. "Yes, I need some air," Pepper said quickly.

Out on the balcony, Pepper was a bit more revealing about her feelings on dancing. "That was totally weird." "Totally harmless," Tony said with a shrug. "It was totally not harmless, by the way," Pepper argued. "We were dancing, people were watching," Tony said. "Everyone who I work with, no, you know why?" "I think you lost objectivity, people were watching, we just danced," Tony said. "No, it was not just a dance!" Pepper exclaimed. "Because you're you, and everybody knows exactly who you are, and how you are with girls, and all of that, which is completely fine, but you know then, me, you're my boss, and I'm dancing with you!" "I really don't think it's such a big deal," Tony said. "But it makes me look like the one who's trying to, you know," Pepper said. "I think you're just overthinking this," Tony interrupted. "And then we're here, and I'm wearing this ridiculous dress, and we're dancing like that, and…" she said, shaking her head.

They leaned forward, and were about to kiss when Pepper froze and pulled away. "I would like a drink, please," she said. "Got it," Tony said. He began to walk away. "I would like a vodka martini, please," she asked. "'Kay," he said. "Dry, very dry. With olives, lots of olives, like at least three olives."

Tony walked inside to the bar, pulling out his wallet. He went up to the bartender and said, "Two vodka martinis, extra dry, extra olives, extra fast. Make one of 'em dirty, will ya?" As he waited for the drinks, he heard a voice from behind him, "Well, Tony Stark," a woman said. Tony turned to see the woman he had slept with the night before Afghanistan. "Oh, hey," he said. "Fancy seeing you here," she said. He looked at her trying to remember her name. "Carrie?" "Christine," she said. "Alright," he said.

"You have a lot of nerve, showing up here tonight," she said. Tony froze. "Can I at least get a reaction from you?" she asked. "Panic," Tony said. "I would say panic." "'Cause I was referring to your company's involvement in this latest atrocity," she said. "Yeah, they just put my name on the invitation, I don't know what to tell you," he said. She gave him a look. "I actually almost bought it, hook, line, and sinker," she said. "I was out of town for a couple months, in case you didn't hear," Tony said.

"Is this what you call accountability?" Christine demanded, handing him a few photos. "It's a town called Gulmira. Heard of it?" Tony remembered what Biela had told him. 'More recently, I'm from a small town called Gulmira…' He looked at the pictures. The first showed a destroyed town, with broken and bleeding bodies lying around. The second showed terrorists carrying a crate. The third photo zoomed in on the crate, revealing the Stark Industries logo. The last photo showed the Jericho missile.

"When were these taken?" he demanded coldly. "Yesterday," the blonde reporter shot back. He shook his head. "I didn't approve any shipment." "Well your company did!" she fired. "Well, I'm not my company," he said.

He texted Pepper as he walked outside, apologizing, saying that something urgent had come up with Stark Industries. He went straight to Obadiah, who waved off reporters to speak with him. "Did you see those pictures?" he asked. Obadiah nodded twice, still smiling for the reporters. "What's going on?" Tony demanded. "Tony, Tony, you can't afford to be this naïve." "I was naïve before," Tony said. "When I said, here's the line, we don't cross it, this is how we do business. If we're double-dealing under the table…" he said as he watched Obadiah turn his face away. "Are we?" he demanded.

Obie looked at him firmly, mouth set, and then said, "Let's take a picture, shall we?" He turned to face the reporters as he wrapped an arm around Tony. "Picture time!" he announced. The reporters started shouting, "Mr. Stark! Over here!" "Tony," Obie said, leaning in, "who do you think locked you out?" Tony's face grew stone cold. "I was the one who filed the injunction against you. It's the only way I could protect you," he said, clapping Tony on the back and walking swiftly away.

* * *

Tony's phone rang as he got into his car. It was Jarvis. "Sir, I thought it prudent to inform you that Miss Biela's plane will be landing at the airport in the next fifteen minutes." "Um, what's the fastest way to the airport?" Tony asked. Jarvis said, "It will take at least twenty-five minutes, sir." "Radio the pilot, tell him to stall for around fifteen minutes. And call Happy and have him bring Pepper over in the morning, I want Bee to meet them both as soon as possible."

Tony got into his car and drove to the airport. He made it just as the plane was coming in for a landing. Attendants rolled the ladder up, and the door to the plan opened. Tony got out of his car as rather tired Biela came rushing out of the plane. She ran and hugged him. "Do you have any luggage?" he asked as he gave her a one-armed hug. "No, it's just me and my phone. The Base Commander was kind enough to get me this outfit, but he might be sending you the bill."

Tony ushered Biela into the car. "Why are you wearing a suit?" she asked. "I was just at my charity ball for the firefighter's charity fund, which I wasn't invited to." "Funny, since your name was on the invitation," she smirked. "Yeah, it's been a rough night," Tony admitted as he pulled out of the airport.

"First, I managed to recreate the suit so it flies properly," he told her. "You did it? You can fly?" Biela asked excitedly. He nodded. "But I need to work on my landings. My last one crashed through my roof, through my grand piano, and crushed one of my cars." Biela was silent a moment.

"Good job," she said finally as Tony revved the engine and they drove off to his house. "Bad news," he said. "They attacked Gulmira." Biela's face darkened. She knew who he meant by 'they.' "You gonna try to stop them?" "Yeah." "Are you going to be able to do it?" "I hope so."

They sat on the couch together, focused on the TV. Tony was tinkering with one of his gloves. "The fifteen mile hike to the outskirts of Gulmira can only be described as a descent into hell, into a modern day heart of darkness. Simple farmers and herders from peaceful villages have been driven their homes, displaced from their lands by warlords, emboldened by a newfound power. Villagers have been forced to take shelter in whatever crude holes they can find, in the ruins of other villages, or here, in the remnants of an old Soviet smelting plant."

Biela glared at the screen. "I've been there," she said. "I recognize some of those people. They were kind to me." The screen showed gunfire and bombs. The reporter continued, "Recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign fighters referred to by locals as the Ten Rings." Biela screeched, "Raza!" as the Big Leader's face appeared on the screen. So that was his name.

"As you can see, these men are heavily armed, and on a mission, a mission that could prove fatal to anyone who stands in their way. With no political will or international pressure, there's very little hope for these refugees." Tony stood from the couch, rage plastered on his face. "Tony?" Biela asked tentatively. He threw a screwdriver on the counter.

"Around me, a woman begging for news of her husband, who was kidnapped by insurgents, either forced to join their militia or…" "That's Yinsen's brother," Biela breathed. Tony raised his arm and fired the repulsor at the ceiling. A light fell to the ground. The reporter's voice faded in and out as Biela looked at him in shock. A few words came through clearly, "There's very little hope for these refugees, refugees who can only wonder who, if anyone, will help them."

In a fit of rage, Tony shattered three glass windows with his repulsor. "Tony?" Biela asked. "I've got to help them," he said. Biela jumped up and ran over to him. She gave him a hug. "You can do it. You will do it. Good luck."

After quickly changing into the under-suit, Tony strode onto the robotic assembly pad. He stepped into the boots and the rest of the suit assembled around him. He only had to hold out his arms so that the bots could assemble the arms. Biela watched him in awe. "That was cool," she said just before the mask closed over his face. "Good luck. Beat up some terrorists for me."

Shortly thereafter, Tony was soaring through the sky at supersonic speeds.


	17. The First Time Out

The refugees ran screaming as the bombs landed around him. Their village was beign attacked by the Ten Rings. One family tried to hide in a house, but the terrorists followed them and shot everyone down. Some threw bombs into homes.

The terrorists gathered up all the men and forced them together, so that the firing squad would have an easier job of it. The women and children were crying. "Hurry it up!" the leader shouted in Arabic. "Put the women in the trucks! Stack the weapons here! Clear all the houses! That one over there! Faster, faster!"

One man ran out of a house with his arms wrapped around his wife, his son, and his daughter. He tried to usher them over to the trucks, but tripped and fell, bringing him to the terrorists' notice.

"Grab that dog!" the leader shouted. THe man continued to try to usher them over, but was grabbed by the terrorists. "Put him with the others," the leader ordered coldly. His wife and daughter began screaming. His son began yelling, "Papa! Papa!"

The boy broke free and ran to his father. The man broke free and ran to him, embracing him tightly. "Go, go!" he told him.

"What the hell is this?" the leader yelled, walking over. He grabbed the boy and threw him away, despite his father's anxious cries. He the man to the ground and stomped on his chest, several times. His wife and children fell to the ground crying. "Shoot this dog!" he ordered as he walked away. "You're all incompetent."

A man came up to shoot him in the head as he sat on his knees with his hands raised. His children and wife were screaming for him. "Turn your head!" the terrorist demanded. "Turn your head!" "PAPA!" his son shouted.

Suddenly, there was a great noise from overhead. Everyone turned to look. Tony Stark landed in their midst on one knee, his hands out behind him.

The terrorists instantly began shooting at him as he landed. "Careful, Tony," Biela warned through her headset. She was watching back at the mansion. Of course, all the bullets bounced off.

Tony ran up to one of the men shooting at him and punched him, sending him flying up into the air and into a nearby house. He then began firing his repulsors at the terrorists. He killed three, and then turned to the main group, who were holding their guns to the heads of the civilians and yelling in whatever language they spoke.

"What are they saying?" he asked as he stood still. "That they'll kill them," Biela responded. "Watch it." Tony lowered his repulsors as the suit targeted the hostiles. A unit opened up and shot them with tiny missiles. All the hostiles fell to the ground, dead, the civilians unharmed. A young boy broke away from his mother and ran to his father, shouting, "Papa! Papa!" His father was still on his knees, and he hugged the boy tightly.

The boy watched Tony over his father's shoulder as the superhero walked over to a wall and punched a hole in it. He then dragged the leader out and threw him on the ground amidst the villagers. "He's all yours," he said as he took off.

As he flew, Jarvis located the Jericho missiles. "Blow 'em to kingdom come!" Biela cheered. Then a tank shot at him. He went down instantly. "Are you okay?" Biela asked. "Fine," Tony groaned as he crawled out of the pit. "Have some ice ready when I get home, will ya?" He could hear her in the background saying, "Jarvis, where do we keep the ice?" Introducing Biela to Jarvis was the first thing Tony had done when she arrived. He had been glad she had taken to him so well.

The tank fired another shot at him. He leaned out of the way. Turning back to the tank, he fired a small missile at it. It made a really big boom. As he walked towards the Jericho, more gunfire struck him. It didn't phase him, he just took off and fired both repulsors at the Jericho. It made an explosion large enough to kill all the terrorists nearby.

As he flew out, he noted a group of vans heading towards the town. "I'll be back for them," Tony promised as he continued soaring through the sky. "Can I have a suit?" Biela asked. "Flying looks like so much fun."

Inside Edwards Air Force Base, the soldiers monitoring the area started mumbling. The major said, "What the hell was that? Were we cleared to go in there?" "No, sir," a soldier responded. "They were using human shields, we never got the green light!" "Get the state on the line, they're gonna be all over us," the major ordered. "We got a bogey," one soldier announced. "Wasn't Air Force!" another shouted. "Anybody got CIA on the line?" the major interrogated. "I've got Langley on the line, they want to know if it's us," a different man said. "No, it definitely was not us, sir!" "Wasn't Navy!" "Wasn't Marines!"

"I need answers, can I please get eyes on target?" The major yelled. He turned to another man. "Get me Colonel Rhodes from Weapons Development down here now!" A few moments later, the man in question strode into the room. "We ran an ID check and cross-referenced it with all known databases, we have nothing." "Any High-Altitude-Surveillance in the region?" Rhodey demanded.

"We've got an AWAC and a Global Hawk in the area," one soldier announced. "This thing just appeared out of nowhere? How come it didn't show up on radar?" "Got a minimal radar cross-section, sir," another soldier responded. "Is it stealth?" Rhodey asked. "No sir, it's…tiny. We think it's an unmanned aerial vehicle."

"Colonel, what are we dealing with?" the major asked in a low voice. "Let me make a call."

"You can have a suit if I can paint it black and gold and call it the Mark B, okay, Bee?" Tony asked. "Ha-ha, very funny," the girl responded. Just then, Tony's phone rang. "Who's calling?" Biela demanded. "It's my friend Rhodey. Listen in, don't say anything." He answered the call, "Hello?" "Tony," Rhodey greeted. "Who's this?" Tony asked, feigning ignorance. "It's Rhodes." "Sorry, hello?" Tony responded, looking at Rhodey's information on the screen. "I said it's Rhodes." "Speak up please," Tony said. "What the hell is that noise?" Rhodey demanded.

"Honey, I'm driving with the top down." Biela snickered on her end of the line. "Well, I need your help right now," Rhodey said. "It's funny how that works, huh?" Tony asked. "Yeah, speaking of funny, we've got a weapons depot that was just blown up a few klicks from where you were being held captive." "Well, that's a hotspot, heh, sounds like someone stepped in and, heh, did your job for you."

"Why do you sound out of breath, Tony?" Rhodey asked, obviously still suspecting him. "I'm not, I was just jogging through the canyon," Tony said quickly. "I thought you were driving," Rhodey said, picking up on his slip. "Right, I was driving to the canyon, where I'm going to jog."

"You sure you don't have any tech in that area I should know about?" Rhodey asked. "Nope!" Tony said, a little too quickly. "Good, because I'm staring at one right now that's about to be blown to kingdom come." Tony hung up the phone as the two jets came in behind him. He spun to one side. "That's an AWAC and a Global Hawk on your tail, Tony," Biela said. "Jarvis, bring up the specs."

The information on those two planes flashed on the HUD. "You can't destroy them, they're on our side," Biela added. "Yay, fun," Tony said as he began the high-speed chase. "Jarvis, hack into their communications, we need to know what they're saying," Biela ordered. A moment later, Jarvis replied. "We are inside their communications, sir, miss."

"Ballroom, this is Whiplash One," the first jet called in. "I've got the bogey in my sights." "Whiplash One, what is it?" Rhodey asked. "I've got no idea," the pilot confessed. "You have radio contact?" the major questioned. "Nonresponsive, sir," the pilot replied. "Then you are cleared to engage," the major ordered.

"You're kidding," Tony said, as he noticed that his followers could go supersonic as well. He flew quickly and broke the sound barrier.

"The bogey just went supersonic!" Whiplash One reported. "I've got a lock!" The pilot hit the button and fired missiles at the Tony. "Projectile missile," Jarvis announced. "Flares!" Biela ordered.

A compartment opened up and the flares went out, stopping the missile from hitting Tony. The explosion rocketed him forward. "Just a second, the bogey deployed flares," Whiplash One reported as the two jets swerved to avoid the explosion. "Woah!" Tony yelled as he fell downwards.

"Tony!" Biela screeched. "I'm okay," he said, as he regained his footing and soared again. One of the jets began firing on him. "Woah!" he shouted. "Deploy flaps!" The flaps deployed and he soared back between the jets.

"Holy!" one of the jets cursed. "Thing just dropped off the radar, sir," a soldier reported. Biela sighed with relief. "Tony, you might want to call Rhodey back now." "Sat reception has been lost," another soldier reported. "No way that's a UAV," Whiplash One said. "Where is it?" the major demanded. "I can't see anything!" Whiplash Two said. "Whatever it was, it just bought the bar," Whiplash One announced. "I think bogey has been handled sir."

"I'm calling Rhodey now," Tony said. "Hello?" the lieutenant colonel answered. "Hi, Rhodey, it's me," Tony said tiredly. "I'm sorry, what?" Rhodey asked. "I'm sorry, it is me. That thing you were asking about, it's me," Tony replied. "Now see, this isn't a game," Rhodey said angrily. "You do not send civilian equipment into my active warzone, you understand that?" "It's not a piece of equipment, I'm in it, it's a suit!" Tony said painfully as he gripped the side of the jet. "It's me!" he yelled.

"Rhodey, you got anything for me?" the major asked. The order came through to the jets, "Mark your positions and return to base." "Roger that, Ballroom," one of the Whiplashes replied as they tilted to turn around. "On your belly!" Whiplash One yelled. "It looks like…a man! Shake him off! Roll, roll!"

"Uh-oh," Tony said as the jet began rolling. As he slipped off the jet, he ran into the wing of Whiplash One, yelling all the while. "I'm hit, I'm hit!" the airman yelled. "Punch out, punch out!" Whiplash Two yelled. "I'm up again," Tony told Biela. "Watch that pilot, he looks like he's having issues," Biela said. They watched as the ejection seat deployed just before the jet exploded.

"His parachute should have deployed by now," Biela said worriedly. "Whiplash One, down," the second reported. "Whiplash Two, do you see a chute?" the major asked. "Negative!" the pilot said. "No chute, no chute!" The first pilot's heavy breathing could be heard over the communications line. "My chute's jammed!" he yelled. "Tony, help him!" Biela almost screamed.

Tony rocketed down towards the man, aware that he had been seen. "Sir, I've got a visual on the bogey," Whiplash Two reported. The major responded angrily, "Whiplash Two, reengage. You get a clear shot, you take it!" The jet rocketed around to follow Tony. "Major, we don't know what we're shooting at, call off the Raptor," Rhodey said. "That thing just took out an F-22 inside a legal no-fly zone! Whiplash Two, you get a clear shot, you take it!"

"Target lock reengaged, execute evasive maneuvers," Jarvis announced. "Keep going!" Tony said, speeding towards the pilot. He grabbed the ejection seat and freed the chute, watching as it whipped out behind the man. "Good chute, good chute!" Whiplash One cheered.

All the men in the so-called ballroom cheered. Tony continued soaring, evading the lock of Whiplash Two. Rhodey's voice came through the line again. "Tony, you still there?" "Hey, thanks," Tony said. Rhodey sighed with relief. "Oh my god, you crazy son of a bitch," Rhodey said. "You owe me a plane, you know that, right?" Tony began laughing.

"Yeah, well, technically, he hit me, so…now you gonna come by and see what I'm working on?" "No, no, no," Rhodey said. "The less I know, the better. Now what am I supposed to tell the press?" "Uh, training exercise, isn't that the usual BS?" Tony asked. "It's not that simple," Rhodey said.

"Well, could you at least come by and see Bee?" Tony asked. "Who?" "Biela, the girl I brought in who was a captive with me? She's staying with me currently," Tony explained. "Say hi, Bee." "Hi, Rhodey!" Biela chirped through the speakers. "Please tell me she's not out there with you," Rhodey dead-panned. "Nope, I'm currently sitting in Tony's nice, comfortable mansion, with air conditioning, and water pressure, and an ocean just outside…much more comfortable than a cave in Afghanistan, I can assure you." "Okay, I'll be by later. See you, Tony," Rhodey said as he hung up the phone.


	18. Biela Makes Some New Friends

"An unfortunate training exercise occurred with an F-22 Raptor occurred yesterday," Rhodey announced to the press. "I am pleased to announce that the pilot was not injured. As for the unexpected turn of events on the ground in Gulmira, it is still unknown who or what intervened, but I can assure you that the United States government was not involved." Biela watched the screen, listening to Tony yelps of pain in the background. "Seriously, I thought you designed that thing to come off," she said.

"Well it is a tight fit, sir," Jarvis said. Biela heard heels coming down the stairs. "Someone's coming," she told Tony. "Sir, the more you struggle, the more this is going to hurt," Jarvis said. "Be gentle, this is my first time," he said as he struggled with the robots. "I did design this thing to come off, so…OW! Hey!" "Please try not to move, sir," Jarvis said.

Biela watched as a woman, who she assumed to be Pepper Potts, walked over to Tony, paying no interest to her as she lounged on the couch watching TV. "What's going on here?" the woman asked. Tony froze at the sound of her voice, then turned to look at her. "Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing," he said. "Are those bullet holes?" she asked in shock.

"Yes, but they didn't penetrate, I checked already," Biela said from her place on the couch. The woman turned to look at her. "Bee, this is my assistant, Pepper Potts, Pep, this is my friend Biela Evans, I told you she was coming," Tony introduced. Biela got off the couch and shook Pepper's hand. "Pleased to meet you," she said sweetly. "Tony told me so much about you while we were in the caves."

Pepper raised an eyebrow and glanced at Tony. "I'm not sure whether to be scared or flattered." Biela shrugged. "Probably the latter, we didn't have much time to talk, we spent most of our time working or sleeping." Meanwhile, Tony had finally gotten the suit off. "Pep, would you mind taking Bee shopping?" He turned to Biela. "We furnished your room, but we didn't really know what you'd like, so it's rather Spartan at the moment." "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" Pepper asked. "That will not be all, Miss Potts. I need Starbucks!"

The two females laughed as they went upstairs.

Pepper and Biela walked outside, where a fancy black car awaited them. The driver got out to open their doors. "Biela, this is Happy Hogan, Tony's chauffeur and bodyguard. Happy, this is Biela Evans, Mr. Stark's especial friend who will be staying with us for a while." "Pleased to meet you, Miss Evans," the man greeted.

"Where to?" he asked once they were in the car. "We're going shopping, Happy. To the highest-end children's clothing store you can find, please," Pepper said. "Wait, has Tony fed you, yet?" "I got a late dinner yesterday on the plane," Biela shrugged. "You must be starving!" Pepper exclaimed. Biela shrugged. "Not really, I only at once or twice a day in Afghanistan, and I've only had really tiny portions of food for the past two weeks, something about starvation shrinks the stomach."

"Got it," Pepper said. "Happy, pizza first, then shopping, please." "Certainly, Miss Potts. And it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Evans." "Thank you, Mr. Happy." The driver chuckled.


	19. Pepper's Task

After the shopping trip, Pepper brought Biela back to the mansion, where she almost instantly crashed on the bed. The poor girl hadn't adjusted to the time change yet. She walked down to the lab, and found Tony working on the arc reactor. He had obviously showered and changed while they were out. "Hey," he greeted. "Where's Bee?" "Sleeping," Pepper replied. At his confused look, she replied, "Jet lag." He nodded knowingly.

"You busy, you mind if I send you on an errand?" Tony asked as Pepper walked over with her hands on her hips. "I need you to go to my office and hack into the mainframe, you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests. This is a lock jam," he said, handing her the device that looked like a USB. "This'll get you in." Pepper took the device hesitantly. "It's probably under executive files, if not, they put it on a ghost drive in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading."

"And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?" Pepper challenged. "Same drill," Tony said. "They're dealing under the table and I'm going to stop them, I'm going to find my weapons, and destroy them."

"Tony," Pepper said with a sigh and a sad smile, "you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're going to start all of this again." "There is nothing except this," Tony said. "There's no art opening, there is no benefit, there is nothing to sign! There is the next mission, and nothing else." "Is that so?" Pepper asked. "Well then I quit. And you should remember, Tony, there are other things. What about Biela? You promised to help her find her dad, and you promised to be her dad if she didn't want to go with him! You're all she has, and that girl should mean a whole lot more to you than your Batman crusade!" "Bee approves of my crusade!" Tony shot back. "And Jarvis started the DNA as soon as she got here, and it ought to be ready in a few hours!" "But does Biela want you risking your life when she's just found a home?" Pepper cried.

"No," a voice came from the door. "But can you stop yelling? I was trying to sleep." The two adults turned to see Biela standing at the door. "Sorry, Bee," Pepper said, tossing the flash drive on the table as she walked out. "You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction, and now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're gonna walk out?"

"You're gonna kill yourself, Tony," Pepper argued. "And I'm not going to be a part of it." "I shouldn't be alive," Tony said, sitting down. "Unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do." There was a moment of silence. "And I know in my heart that it's right."

"Miss Pepper," Biela said in a small voice. "Just Pepper, Biela," the PA said. "Pepper, the Ten Rings, the group that SI is double-dealing with…they're bad news. I know more about that organization, more about torture, interrogation, and destruction, than anyone should have to. Tony should destroy them. If they didn't have the Stark weapons, they'd be nothing, and they never would have taken me and my mom. My mom would still be alive. I never would have been raped."

"Raped?" Tony and Pepper said in unison. Biela nodded shakily. "Since my mom died when I was eight. The three months I was helping Tony was the longest respite I ever got. Pepper, somebody has to destroy them, and Tony's the only one able to do it."

Pepper walked over and grabbed the flash drive. She sighed, looking straight at Tony. "You're all I have too, you know. You and Bee." She walked out the door.

* * *

Pepper walked out of the elevator onto the top floor of the Stark Industries building: the CEO's office. Luckily, everyone was out. She walked quickly to Tony's office and closed the door behind her. Sitting behind the desk, she jiggled the mouse to close the slideshow of Tony's cars and opened the login screen. She dug the flash drive out of her purse and put it in. It bypassed the login with a master override, just as Tony had said. It quickly found the ghost drive and opened the files.

The first two were shipping manifests. The third showed what looked like the armor suit with information about Sector Sixteen. "Sector Sixteen?" Pepper said aloud. "What are you up to, Obadiah?" The fourth file was a video recording of terrorists and a man with a sack over his head. They pulled the sack off. It was Tony. Pepper quickly typed 'TRANSLATE' in, and it was translated to English.

"You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Tony Stark. As you can see, Obadiah Stane, your deception and lies will cost you dearly." "Oh my God," Pepper whispered. "The price to kill Tony Stark has just gone up," the man said. Pepper quickly copied all the files onto the flash drive.

"So," a voice came from the door. Pepper jumped with a gasp. It was Obadiah. "What are we going to do about this?" Obadiah smirked as he went over to the side table and poured himself a glass of scotch. Pepper watched him nervously, glancing at the computer. "I know what you're going through, Pepper," Obadiah said. "Ah, Tony. He always gets the good stuff, doesn't he?"

Pepper smiled in relief as she gave a slight nod. She discreetly moved a newspaper over the flash drive. As Obadiah walked over, she turned on the screen saver, revealing Tony's car collection. "I was so happy," Obadiah said, "when he came home. It was like he was coming back from the dead. Now," he said as he sat down, "I realize…well, Tony never really did come home, did he? He left a part of himself in that cave. Breaks my heart."

"Well," Pepper said with a gulp. "He's a complicated person. He's been through a lot, I think he'll be alright." "You are a very rare woman," Obadiah complimented. "Tony doesn't know how lucky he is." Pepper smiled and blushed. "Thank you, thanks," she said as she moved to stand up. "Better get back there," she said as she grabbed the newspaper and the flash drive.

As she pulled her purse over her shoulder and walked out the door, Obadiah asked, "Is that today's paper?" Pepper froze. "Yes," she said with a smile, turning around. "Do you mind?" Obadiah asked, holding out a hand. "Not at all," Pepper said, handing him the paper while keeping her hand tightly clenched over the flash drive. "Puzzle," Obadiah said in explanation. "Of course," Pepper said. She walked out the door. "Take care," Obadiah called out behind her.

Pepper tried not to quicken her pace as she glanced at the flash drive. She knew Obadiah would probably see what she downloaded. As she walked down the stairs, she saw Agent Coulson sitting in a chair in the lobby. "Miss Potts?" he asked. "We had an appointment. Did you forget about our appointment?" "Nope, right now, come with me," Pepper ordered. "We're gonna have it right now, walk with me," she said. "Okay," Agent Coulson said, noticing her anxiety and matching her quick pace. She looked up and saw Obadiah staring at her. He knew. "You're getting the meeting of your life. Your office."


	20. An Important Piece of Information

"Sir, Miss Biela's DNA test is complete," Jarvis announced. "So, who's her dad?" Tony asked, looking up from the suit for the first time in hours. Tony had been tinkering with it a bit. "You are, sir." Tony's eyes widened. "What?" "There is a ninety-nine percent chance that you are her father," Jarvis said. "To make sure of this, I cross-examined your exploits from around the time of Miss Stark's conception, and chemist Ella Evans was indeed on that list."

"I have a daughter," Tony whispered. "And I get her without the annoying adoption forms I thought I had to fill out. Wow." "Should I wake Miss Stark?" Jarvis asked. "Nah, let her sleep. She's got jet lag. I'll tell her in the morning."

Finally feeling the need to stretch his legs, Tony went upstairs, and was in the living room when the phone rang. He finally found it under the couch pillow, and realized it was Pepper. He hit talk, and heard her ask, "Tony?" right before a high-pitched whine filled his ears and he couldn't move. "Tony, are you there?" Pepper asked.

"Breathe," Obadiah's voice said as he leaned him back onto the couch. "Easy, easy." The man held a small device in Tony's eyesight. "You remember this one, right? It's a shame the government didn't approve of this. There are so many applications for causing short-term paralysis." Obadiah walked around so Tony could see him and gripped his chin, turning his face towards him.

"Ah, Tony," the man said, taking his earplugs out. "When I ordered that hit on you, I worried that I was killing the golden goose." Obadiah put a metal device to Tony's chest, atop the arc reactor. "It was fate that you survived," Obadiah said, "You just had one last golden egg to give," he said, pulling the arc reactor out. He grinned evilly in the light of the reactor.

"Did you really think, that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you?" Obadiah asked patronizingly. "Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb," Obadiah said. "What kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?" He yanked the arc reactor out completely and examined it. "Oh, it's beautiful," he murmured. "Ah, Tony," he said. "This is your Ninth Symphony. Oh, what a masterpiece, look at that. Is this your legacy? A new generation of weapons with this at its heart? Weapons that will help steer the world back on course? Weapons that will put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands." Obadiah began to laugh.

"I wish you could see my prototype. It's not as, ah, not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she lived." As Obadiah got up, another voice broke in.

"What have you done to Tony?" Biela demanded fiercely, standing at the door to the room. Obadiah turned to face her. "You!" she yelled. Obadiah grinned evilly. "If it isn't the little slut. Raza mentioned you'd escaped as well, but I never expected Tony to bring home a houseguest. We had some…fun times together, you and I? Didn't we?"

Biela was trembling now, and inside, Tony was trembling with rage. Obadiah, his friend, had not only betrayed him, he had raped his daughter. Several times, it sounded like. Obadiah stalked over to her, putting in his earplugs and pulling at the paralysis inducer. He flicked it on and moved it next to Biela's ear. She didn't freeze. She tried to run. Obadiah grabbed her and bashed her head into the wall. She fell to the ground, and Tony could see a trickle of blood on the ground. "I don't know how you resisted that, little slut, but there was always something different about you. I'm sure our scientists would be happy to find out."

He grabbed her with his other hand and dragged her out of the house.


	21. Keep the Skies Clear

As soon as the line to Tony went dead, Pepper called Rhodey. "What do you mean, he paid to have Tony killed?" Rhodey asked her. "I saw the video…" "Pepper, slow down. Why would Obadiah…okay, where's Tony now?" "I don't know, he's not answering his phone," the PA said. "Please go over there and make sure everything's okay. Thank you, Rhodey." She hung up the phone.

Turning to the agents from the Division-with-a-really-long-name, she said, "I know a shortcut."

* * *

Tony stumbled into the elevator and down to the lab. He was going into cardiac arrest, but he had one mission, well, two: Stop Obie, save Bee. He saw the old arc reactor on the other side of the room. He fell to the ground and began to crawl, determined to save his daughter. He was almost there…but he couldn't reach it. He collapsed to the ground in despair.

Just then, Dummy handed him the arc reactor. "Good boy," Tony choked out as he smashed the arc reactor against the ground.

* * *

Obadiah had tied her to a chair and gagged her as well. Biela had woken up that way. She squirmed, yelling into the gag and rattling the chair as Obadiah stepped up to his suit and inserted the arc reactor. Her eyes widened in shock as Obadiah smirked. This was not good, not good at all.

Tony heard as Rhodey came into the house, yelling, "Tony! Tony!" He heard him come down the stairs, still yelling, "Tony! Tony!" He entered the lab and ran over to where Tony was lying on the floor. "Are you okay?" he asked, kneeling beside him. "Where's Pepper?" he choked out, gripping Rhodey's shoulders.

"She's fine, she's with five agents, they're about to arrest Obadiah," Rhodey reassured. It didn't help. "It's not going to be enough," Tony almost growled, still recovering from the cardiac arrest. He used Rhodey to pull himself up.

"He's got my daughter," he said. "Obadiah? What, you have a daughter?" Rhodey said. "Yeah, Biela, turns out she's actually mine. He took her, he's raped her before and he's planning to rape her again. I've got to save her."

* * *

The cars roared up to the Stark Industries building. Pepper and Agent Coulson got out, followed by the other four agents. Pepper used her key to open the door and they stalked into Stark Industries. "Section Sixteen," Pepper muttered. "Section Sixteen. There it is," she said, spying the R&D area. She swiped her key. It didn't work. She tried again. Still nothing. "My key's not working, it's not opening the door," she told Agent Coulson.

The agent held out his hand and another agent placed as small black device in it. "Oh, wow, what's that? It's like a little device, it's like a thing that's gonna pick the lock?" Pepper said nervously as it began to blink red. "You might want to take a few steps back," Agent Coulson said. Pepper knew what that meant. Tony had used it often enough. She quickly ran back so that she was behind the agents, who were standing calmly facing away from the door. She plugged her ears. The bomb went off.

* * *

Biela heard the bomb go off. She could also hear Pepper and another man talking, though Obadiah couldn't hear that like he heard the bomb. "Sit tight, little slut," he said as he grinned lecherously. He ran towards the suit.

* * *

The robots assembled the Mark IV armor around him. "That's the coolest thing I've ever seen," Rhodey said in awe. "Not bad," Tony said. "Let's do this." "You need me to do anything else?" Rhodey called. "Keep the skies clear," he said as he rocketed through the hole in his house. "Damn," Rhodey said. He looked over at one of the older suits and said, "Next time, baby." He got into one of Tony's cars and sped off.


	22. Meet the Iron Monger

**AN: Okay, four chapters left, and this one and the last one are VERY short. I am planning on a sequel, if anyone is interested (scratch that, I'm going to do it anyway. I put too much effort into this series already.) This is more for my personal amusement than anything else. **

The agents entered the dark room, guns drawn, with Pepper close behind. The strange noises they heard did nothing for her nerves. They walked through the dark room. They found Tony's Mark 1 armor. "Looks like you were right," Agent Coulson said. "He was building a suit." "I thought it'd be bigger," Pepper confessed.

Hearing a creaking noise, Pepper turned around and walked away from the suit. She saw the electrical wires hanging, sparking in the air. The other agents spread out, guns drawn. Pepper's phone buzzed. She pulled it out. It was Rhodey. "Hello?" she asked. "Tony's fine, he's on the way, he doesn't think you can take him. But bad news: he's got Biela." "What?" Pepper said, trying very hard not to yell. "He's got Biela, and it turns out that she's Tony's biological daughter." "Okay, gotta go," Pepper said, noticing the look Agent Coulson was giving her.

She put her phone away and moved over to Coulson. "Obadiah has a hostage," she said. "A hostage?" Coulson asked. "A ten year old girl," Pepper replied. "She's a friend of Tony's, he's been trying to help her find her family." Coulson nodded and said something through his earpiece to the other agents.

The sound of chains clinking caught Pepper's attention. She walked over and tilted her head curiously. Suddenly, two lights…eyes…appeared and rose up. Pepper screamed and began to run. Obadiah's suit was a lot bigger than Tony's was, and merely smashed the agents away. Pepper continued running, until she was through a door that Obadiah couldn't immediately run through.

* * *

Tony soared over the skies of LA, headed for Stark Industries. He asked Jarvis, "How do you think the Mark I chest piece is going to hold up?" "Sir, we're at forty percent power and falling, that chest piece was never designed for extended flight." "Keep me posted," Tony said. He called Pepper. "Pepper!" he called. "Tony! Tony, are you okay?" his PA demanded.

"I'm fine, where's Bee?" "We never found her, I made it out but there's still a whole bunch of agents inside. Obadiah…he's gone insane!" "I know. You'd better get out of there, get out of there right now!" The line went dead. Tony urged the suit faster, determined to get to Pepper and Biela.


	23. Fighting

Pepper turned around when she heard the rumbling. The asphalt broke, and Obadiah came out of the parking lot in his suit. "Where do you think you're going?" he growled. Pepper screamed. He pulled himself out of the hole and started his weapons up. "Your services are no longer required," he said.

Just then, Tony came zooming in. "Hey!" he yelled as he plowed into Obadiah, knocking him back away from her.

They ended up crashing on the highway, causing a car crash in the process. Obadiah was the first to recover, grabbing a SUV with a mother and her children inside. Tony could hear them screaming. "I love this suit!" "Put them down," Tony ordered. "Collateral damage, Tony," Obadiah said. The repulsors in his hands went down as he told Jarvis, "All power to the chest piece."

The chest piece fired, forcing Obadiah to drop the car as he slammed into another car. Tony caught the SUV, with great effort. "Power reduced to 19%," Jarvis informed him. He groaned and fell to one knee, managing to put the car down. Unfortunately, the freaked out mother had hit the gas and was starting to drive…with Tony still attached to the front. "Lady!" he yelled. He slid under the car and held on a bit, before he could lift the rear up and get out from underneath.

Obadiah came charging at him and grabbed a passing motorcycle to swing at him. Tony flew into a nearby bus. He came and lifted Tony above his head. "Twenty years I've been holding you up," he growled as he threw him to the ground and stomped on him. "I built this company from nothing! Nothing's going to stand in my way." He threw Tony into the bus, crushing it. "Least of all, you!" He fired a missile into the bus.

Tony was thrown up into the air by the explosion. He caught himself with his repulsors just before he hit the ground. "Impressive!" Obadiah laughed. "You've made some upgrades to your armor! I've made some upgrades of my own!" Obadiah started off the ground with crude rockets.

"Sir, it appears that this suit can fly," Jarvis stated. "Duly noted," Tony said, slightly in shock. "Take me to maximum altitude. "With only 15% power, the odds of reaching that are…" "I know the math!" Tony yelled. "Do it!" Tony soared upward, followed by slow but steady Obadiah.

* * *

"Sir, I can't believe this, but it's back," a soldier said. "Get me Major Allen," the current commander said. "Scramble the jets!" A soldier picked up the phone and started dialing. He was stopped by Rhodey. "Not necessary people," he announced. "Just a training exercise." The soldier nodded hesitantly and put the phone down.

* * *

Tony soared higher, followed by Obadiah's much cruder rockets. "Thirteen percent power, sir," Jarvis informed him. "Climb!" Tony yelled. "Eleven percent," Jarvis said a moment later. "Keep going!" The arc reactor started flickering. "Seven percent power," Jarvis said shakily. "Just leave it on the screen and stop telling me!" Tony ordered.

Tony could see Obadiah's suit beginning to ice up. Obadiah grabbed is ankle and pulled. He grabbed him around the neck and began to choke him. "You had a great idea, Tony, but my suit is more advanced in every way!" Obadiah mocked. Tony tilted his head slightly. "How'd you solve the icing problem?" "Icing problem?" Obadiah repeated as his suit went dark. "Might want to look into it," Tony said, hitting him on the head as he fell.

Tony hovered there for a moment, watching him fall, until Jarvis said quietly, "Two percent." Tony went down. He fell and stopped, then fell and stopped. "We are now running on emergency backup power," Jarvis informed him. He landed on the Stark Industries building.

"Potts," he said. "Tony!" Pepper yelled through her earpiece. "Oh my God, are…are you okay?" "I'm almost out of power, I've got to get out of this thing," he told her as he pulled off one of the gloves. "I'll be right there. We have to find Bee." Just then, Obadiah landed behind him and punched at him. Tony ducked, then tried to fire a repulsor at him…with his bare hand. He looked at it. "Oops," he said as Obadiah sent him flying.

He ran at Obadiah, jumping and punching him in the face. Obadiah caught him and grabbed the back of his suit, starting to rip it apart. "What's the status?" Tony asked Jarvis. "Pressure has been breached," Jarvis said. Obadiah cackled as he listened to Tony's cries. "Flares!" Tony choked out. Obadiah dropped Tony as he was shaken by the flares and blinded by the smoke. "Very clever, Tony," Obadiah said. He began looking around for the billionaire.

Tony connected with Pepper again. "Potts," he said quietly. "Tony!" she exclaimed. "This isn't working, we're going to have to overload the reactor and blast the roof," he whispered. "Well, how are you going to do that?" Pepper asked. "You're gonna do it," Tony said. "Go to the central console, open up all the circuits, when I've give you the all clear you're going to hit the master bypass button. It's gonna fry everything up here. Make sure Bee's not in there."

"Okay," Pepper said shakily. "I'm going in now." "Make sure you wait until I clear the roof," Tony said. "I'll buy you some time."

Pepper began pulling down the levers, opening all the circuits. She looked around. Biela wasn't in the room. She quickly dashed down to Sector Sixteen and saw the agents. They'd found her, and were currently untying her. "You've got to get out now!" she yelled to them. "We're about to blow up this whole building!" The agents looked up at that, and instead of untying her, Agent Coulson and another agent just picked up the chair and ran. "Don't let Obadiah see her!" Pepper warned.

Tony jumped on Obadiah's back. "Oh, there you are," the older man growled. "This looks important!" Tony said, yanking a mass of machinery out of Obadiah's suit. The eyes went dark. He'd cut the optical connection. Obadiah grabbed him and threw him off, taking of his helmet and sending him skidding over the skylight in the center of the roof. He could see Pepper flipping switches, almost done, while the agents were evacuating on the other side of the room. Two of them were carrying Biela. Tony breathed a sigh of relief. She was okay. His daughter was okay.

Obadiah's suit opened up, revealing the man himself. "I never had a taste for this sort of thing!" he yelled. "But I must admit, I'm deeply enjoying the suit!" he said as he crushed Tony's helmet and threw it to him. Tony looked up shakily. "You finally outdid yourself, Tony," Obadiah yelled, stomping ever closer. "It would've made your father proud!"

Tony rose shakily to his feet. "It's ready, Tony!" Pepper called. "Get off the roof!" Obadiah began firing a machine gun at him. He opened up part of his suit as a shield for his face, but that didn't stop the glass he was standing on from breaking, causing him to fall in. He could hear Pepper's screams below. Obadiah raised his machine gun and began firing again, but this time he was aiming at the glass around Tony. There was no place Tony could climb up on. He could hear Pepper screaming again. "Tony!" she yelled.

"How ironic, Tony!" Obadiah mocked. "In trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it its best one ever!" "Pepper!" Tony yelled. "And now," Obadiah said, "I'm gonna kill you with it." Obadiah fired a missile at him. It missed. "You ripped out my targeting system," Obadiah said. "Time to hit the button!" Tony yelled down to Pepper. "You told me not to!" Pepper yelled back.

"Hold still, you little prick," Obadiah demanded. He shot another missile. It went a bit too far. "Just do it!" Tony yelled. "You'll die!" Pepper yelled back. "Push it!" Tony yelled. Pepper pushed the emergency master bypass button and began running out, her arms over her face. The power surge went up through the reactor and launched Tony away from the skylight. Obadiah caught the full blast, as it traveled through him and into the skies above in a blaze of light and thunder.

Obadiah screamed as he was electrocuted. He fell off the building and into the reactor, causing one of the most massive explosions Tony had ever seen. He rolled away from the skylight to avoid being hit.

He lay on the roof, barely alive, the reactor trying weakly to turn back on. "Tony!" Pepper yelled. "Tony!" Biela added her voice to the fray. The reactor flickered off.


	24. Another Press Conference

**AN: First of all, I just recently realized that I forgot the disclaimer, and warnings, and all the other stuff I'm supposed to have at the beginning of a chapter in all the chapters so far. So here's the disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers and I never will. There. It's done. Warnings: mentions of child experimentation. That's it. Everyone knows how this chapter ends, and if you don't, why are you even reading Avengers fanfiction? Anyway, this is the last actual chapter. There's still an epilogue, though.**

At the press conference, Rhodey was speaking. "You've all received the official statement of what happened at Stark Industries last night," he said. "There have been unconfirmed reports that a robotic prototype malfunctioned and caused damage to the arc reactor. Fortunately a member of Tony Stark's personal bodyguard was able to shut it down."

Biela kept one eye on the TV screen and the other eye on Tony and Pepper. Pepper was currently dabbing makeup on Tony to hide the bruises and cuts. When they'd found him atop the SI building, they'd thought him dead. She'd quickly latched the arc reactor in Tony's chest up to a power box, something he'd showed only her how to do, and jumpstarted it. It worked, and Tony woke up.

Learning that he was her biological father was a shock, to say the least. They'd both agreed that they wanted to keep her existence from the press, so she was currently posing as Tony's personal doctor. "Iron Man, that's kind of catchy, it's got a nice ring to it, it's not technically accurate, the suit's a gold titanium alloy, but got a good vocative, doesn't it?" Tony asked. "I like it," Biela put in.

Coulson walked over and handed Tony a stack of note cards. "Here's your alibi," he said. "O-kaay," Tony said. "You were on your yacht," Coulson said. "We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night, and sworn statements from fifty of your guests." "You know, I was thinking we could just say it was just Pepper and me, alone on the island." Pepper gave him a look. "Ew," Biela said from across the room.

Tony looked at her. "How could you hear that, I wasn't being that loud? And come to think of it, your hearing's weird isn't it, the paralysis device didn't affect you in the slightest, Obie had to slam your head into the doorframe to knock you out." "I'm…special," Biela said, with a nervous look at Agent Coulson.

The agent smiled at her kindly. "Miss Stark, we're not going to take you away and lock you up, your father would bring the entire world to its knees to get you back. You can talk, I'd just put it in your file for future reference." Biela bit her lip. "My mom…my mom worked with General Ross on his super soldier project, it was always a side job of making money. She worked with Dr. Banner on the Gamma Pulse project later, but while she was pregnant with me, she was working on a chemical to enhance the senses for General Ross. She didn't want a kid, so…she injected me with the chemical while I was still in the womb. Every other test subject died, but it worked on me."

"So…you can hear and see better?" Pepper asked. Biela nodded. "The paralysis device didn't affect me because I normally hear in the range that it uses, so usage of the range at super-human levels doesn't bother me. My senses also help me pick up tells, it makes me a better psychologist, I can analyze people at a glance. Oh, and Agent Coulson?" The agent looked slightly nervous. "Yes?" "The SHFS is having a sale on Captain America memorabilia." The agent's eyes widened.

"Anyway, that's what happened," Agent Coulson said, turning the subject back to the notecards. "Alright," Tony said. "Read it word for word," Coulson instructed. Tony flipped through the cards. He looked up at Coulson. "There's nothing about Stane here." "That's being handled," Coulson said. "He's on vacation. Small aircraft have such a poor safety record." "But what about the whole cover story that it's a bodyguard? He's my bodyguard? I mean, that's kind of flimsy."

"This isn't my first rodeo, Mr. Stark," Coulson said. "Just stick to the official statement and soon, this will all be behind you." "You were the agent after the first Banner incident!" Biela exclaimed. "And you were the five year old," Coulson muttered. "Of all the scientists and brilliant geniuses there, it would be the five year old who still remembers me. Aren't five year olds supposed to have bad long-term memories?" "Child prodigy with an eidetic memory!" Biela sang. Coulson rolled his eyes. "This super hearing is starting to be a pain."

"Mr. Stark, you've got…ninety seconds," he said as he walked away. Pepper followed him and said, "Oh, Agent Coulson, I just wanted to say thank you, very much, for all your help." Coulson smiled. "That's what we do. You'll be hearing from us." "From the Strategic Homeland…" Pepper began. "Just call us SHIELD," Coulson said. "Good, you took up my suggestion," Biela called. "I totally get credit for that, right?" Pepper smiled and nodded as Coulson walked out. "Right."

She turned back to Tony. "Let's get this show on the road," she said, picking up his coat. "You know, it's not that bad," Tony said. "Even I don't think I'm Iron Man." "You're not Iron Man, remember?" Pepper said. "I know, shut up," Tony replied. "You know, if I were Iron Man, I'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity, she'd be a wreck, she'd worry that I was gonna die, she'd be so proud of the man I've become, she'd be wildly conflicted, which would only make her more crazy about me. Tell me, do you ever think about that night?" "What night?" Pepper asked. "You know," Tony said. Pepper looked at him. "Are you talking about the night that we danced? We went up on the roof and…and then, you went downstairs to get me a drink and left me there, by myself. Is that the night you're talking about?"

Tony mumbled something along the lines of, "I had to go get Bee!" Pepper raised an eyebrow as she put his handkerchief in his pocket. "Thought so," she said. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" "Yes, that will be all, Miss Potts," Tony said as he headed for the door.

"So…does this mean I get to be the Iron Bee?" Biela called after him. Tony looked at her. "We'll get straight to work on that as soon as we get home," he said. Biela smiled. "Black instead of red?" "Great idea. Write that down," Tony said. Biela tapped her temple. "Eidetic memory." "Right." "Good luck!" Biela called as he walked out the door.

Biela mouthed to Pepper, "So, did he kiss you or not?" She rolled her eyes and followed Tony out. She pulled out her StarkPhone and sent Tony a text.

* * *

Tony's phone buzzed just as Rhodey was about to announce him. He took it out. It was Bee. The text read, "BTW when r u going 2 ask Pepper out? ; )" He rolled his eyes with a smile and put his phone back into his pocket.

"And now," Rhodey said, "Mr. Stark has prepared a statement. He will not be taking any questions, thank you." Tony walked up to the podium on the stage. He turned to face the press, who, like always, had their microphones out and their cameras flashing.

"Uh, it's been a while since I was in front of you, I think I'll stick to the cards this time," he said, holding said cards up. The press laughed. "There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred in the freeway and the rooftop…" "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark," Christine Everhart interrupted. After all her meddling, he wasn't going to forget her name. "But do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you…"

"I know that it's confusing," Tony said. "It is one thing to question the official story and another thing entirely to make wild accusations or, uh, insinuate that I'm a superhero." "I never said you're a superhero," Christine said with a smirk. "Didn't…" "Mm-mm," Christine replied. "Well good, because that would be outlandish and, uh, fantastic." Tony sighed. "I, ah, I'm just not the hero type, clearly, with this laundry list of character defaults, all the mistakes I've made, largely public…"

Rhodey leaned over and whispered, "Just stick to the cards." Tony nodded. "Yeah." He spoke up for the press. "Truth is," he said as he stared at the cards, conflicted. He set them down. He said the four words that would change his life forever. "I am Iron Man." The press jumped up and started flashing pictures. If this wasn't the top news story since 9/11 in the next five minutes, he'd be shocked.


	25. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Iron man or the Avengers.**

**AN: I apologize for this being so short, but it's the after-credits scene. I also apologize for forgetting to post this yesterday.**

Tony walked in with Bee to a darkened house. "Jarvis?" he called out. "Welcome home, sir, miss," the AI replied. Both Starks could see the man over by the window. "I am Iron Man," the man repeated. "Think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, Miss Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe, you just don't know it yet."

Tony pushed Bee behind him to protect her. "Who the hell are you?" he questioned. The man stepped forward so his face was visible. He was a black man wearing all black, including a trench coat and an eye patch. "Nick Fury," he said. "Director of SHIELD." "Oh," Tony said. "I still get credit for the name, right?" Biela asked. Fury nodded and said, "I'm here to talk to the two of you about the Avenger Initiative."

**Another AN: I am planning on doing a sequel, though, unlike this story, it hasn't been entirely written yet. I have maybe a fifth of it done, but I'm still stuck in Monaco. Iron Bee 2 (my names are so creative aren't they) will be more focused on Biela, focusing on her character. I'll hopefully have the first chapter up in the next few days. And sorry that my author's note is almost longer than the actual chapter.**


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